A number of district championships happened across Palm Beach County volleyball courts and beyond on Thursday, Oct. 15.
In total, six local programs hoisted district finals trophies.
Some of those, like the resounding successes of King's Academy and Boca Raton Christian, come as no surprise. But there were also a number of noteworthy upsets that made for extra meaningful nights for some teams.
Spanish River was one of those teams.
Spanish River defeats Western, wins district as No. 4 seed
For the first time since 2017, Spanish River volleyball has added a district title to its trophy case.
The Sharks beat Western in a match that was as close as it gets, emerging victorious in five sets, 26-24, 27-25, 24-26, 20-25, 15-11.
A fifth-set
adjustment ended up being a difference-maker, but so, too, was the 23 combined kills between freshman star Naya Marion and Sophia Grish.
Amelie Fortinho added five blocks in the win.
The Sharks also swept top-seeded Boca Raton before defeating Western to up-end outside expectations as well as the bracket.
"I felt confident, and maybe we were the only ones that felt confident," joked head coach Alaine Bazile.
After beating the Bobcats in the regular season, Spanish River's primary goal was to defeat their crosstown rival once again — and Bazile knew his team matched up well.
"Boca is always the obstacle, so just making sure we do our job and beat them first, then we can take on whoever we need to face," Bazile said. "We've matched up really well against them. We had favorable matchups and we played to that."
Marion was exceptional against Boca as well, tallying 12 kills on a .391 hitting percentage to pace the team, adding 12 serve receptions.
Regional runs have not been commonplace for Spanish River, who has had to navigate a tough district under Bazile, but the consistency across the board of this year's Sharks lends promise.
The defense, especially, has steadied the team. Dynamic junior duo Luisa Maranhão and Siara Ferrante led the team in digs against Western, while multiple setters have helped guide an offense that features four hitters with 100-plus kills on the year.
"I know what our players have been able to do, and everyone has a job when they go out there," he said.
The regional brackets will be released on Sunday at 2 p.m., which doesn't leave too much time for preparation, but such is the case for the entire field.
"It's great to be able to watch film but it's not realistic to be able to watch film all the time," Bazile said. "There is going to be another group of six girls that are on the other side of the court, and that's who we are going to play."
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Spanish River rides back-to-back upsets to volleyball district title
