Dr. Phillips 3, Wekiva 0 

Wekiva’s roller-coaster week continued Wednesday night, as the Mustangs were swept on the road by the Dr. Phillips Panthers, (25–17, 25–16, 25–12). The loss came less than 24 hours after Wekiva put together its most dominant performance of the season in a 3–0 blowout of the Evans Trojans. 

Against the Panthers, Wekiva struggled to overcome errors and slow starts in each set. Dr. Phillips leaned on the steady hands of setters Sophia Marcakis and Milena Arruda, who combined for more than 25 assists, while outside hitter Luiza Cachel led the way with 15 kills and five aces. 

The first set saw Wekiva fall behind 14–7 on the back of service errors and miscommunication. Senior middle hitter Misha Mancilla gave the Mustangs their first clean kill late in the frame, but the Panthers surged ahead for a 25–17 win. 

In the second, the Mustangs showed some fight, climbing back from a 7–0 hole with an 8–3 run sparked by sophomore Avianna Mater’s crafty scoring. Still, mistakes piled up, and Dr. Phillips pulled away for a 25–16 win.  

The third set opened with an ace from the Panthers, followed by a kill from Cachel that sparked a long service run and a quick 9–2 Dr. Phillips lead.  

Wekiva battled back as senior Asheley Touze notched a block, kill, and an ace, while sophomore Ayonna Hunt added a block and a kill at the net to cut the deficit to 13–7.  

Touze and Hunt gave the Mustangs brief momentum, but they had no answer for Cachel, who continued to finish points set up by Marcakis and Arruda.  

Sydney Bailey finished off the match for the Panthers with back to back kills. 

Wekiva’s highlights included blocks and a kill from Hunt, as well as contributions from Mancilla and Touze. Setter Isabella Espada worked to steady the offense with assists, but the Mustangs simply couldn’t match Dr. Phillips’ firepower. 

Wekiva 3, Evans 0 

The Mustangs made quick work of the Trojans (25–3, 25–6, 25–6) in their most complete performance of the season on Tuesday.  

The opening set featured an incredible 20-point service run from Elyanna Sanchez, who tallied eight aces during the stretch. Espada repeatedly found Mater for thunderous kills during the run as Wekiva raced to a commanding 25–3 victory. 

Sanchez carried her momentum into the second set by opening with a kill. Then it was Espada’s turn to take over from the service line, rattling off three straight aces as the Mustangs built a 10–0 lead.  

Mater continued to dominate from the left side, piling up six kills in the set. Mancilla added back-to-back kills, and Sarai McFadden joined the scoring surge with three aces of her own. Wekiva cruised to another lopsided win, 25–6. 

The third set provided more of the same. Espada opened with a clever tip kill before dropping in another ace. Junior libero Mikayla Rivera contributed back-to-back aces, McFadden added another, and Mater again rose up for a series of kills.  

After an Evans timeout at 17–3, Mater tacked on two more kills and closed the match with two aces to finish off a dominant 25–6 final set. 

By the end of the night, Wekiva had stacked up eye-popping numbers. Mater led all scorers with 15 kills and two aces. Sanchez tallied eight aces and two kills. Espada finished with nine aces, three kills, and 20 assists, and McFadden chipped in five aces and two kills.  

Rivera also added her spark with a pair of aces from the back row and some timely digs. 

The Evans sweep showcased Wekiva’s potential when its serve game is clicking and Espada is free to orchestrate the offense. Mater’s left-side dominance paired with Sanchez’s serving run gave the Mustangs a glimpse of the firepower they’ll need in tournament play. 

Now standing at 4-5, Wekiva enters the Metro West Tournament as the No. 9 seed, drawing rival Apopka (2–7) in Thursday’s first round at 4 p.m. at Edgewater High School. After the tournament, the Mustangs will return home September 25th at 6:30 to host Ocoee (6–2).