LAKE WORTH CHRISTIAN BEATS SEACREST COUNTRY DAY TO EARN TRIP TO 13TH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Terri Kaiser knows what it takes to get her volleyball teams to the state championship, and she knew the way her team was playing in the second set of Saturday’s state semifinal wouldn’t be enough. After Kaiser’s Lake Worth Christian team fell in a hole too deep to climb out of against Naples Seacrest Country Day in the second set, she told her team to stop playing scared. “We played fearful, then we kind of let the other team play with us,” Kaiser said. “We had that in the second game. So third game, fourth game, I just said, ‘Play who we are. Stop looking at the stands. Just focus.’” After the Defenders (26-4) dropped the second set, they turned things around, outscoring the Stingrays 50-21 in the final two sets. Lake Worth Christian clinched a trip to the Class 2A state championship with a 3-1 victory (25-19, 23-25, 25-14, 25-7). The Defenders will play for the state title at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers on Friday at noon. “I think everything is special, especially when you buy into the players and the coaching staff that I’m working with," Kaiser said. “Because every year the players change a little bit. Seniors graduate, and then you have a new group and then you’ve just got to train them to be a good system.” Senior Michigan State commit Sarah Franklin led the Defenders with 23 kills, seven aces, and 11 service points and added three blocks. Freshman Abigail Toeniskoetter led the Defenders with eight blocks. Karly Horn had 16 digs, while Caitlyn Walters had 15. Franklin reached the 2,000 point mark for her career in this match. “She’s very coachable," Kaiser said. "She’s been like that since I first met her.” Kaiser learned after the match that Saturday’s victory was the 700th of her career at Lake Worth Christian. “I didn’t know, number 1," Kaiser said. "Number 2, it’s amazing because I love this game.”