Seacrest Country Day School won its first-ever volleyball state championship in 2013. At the time, Sami Soderlund was in kindergarten at the school. She remembers watching that team hoist the state championship trophy above their heads. That moment made Sami fall in love with the sport of volleyball.
"It was crazy," Soderlund said. "I watched them win states and the year after I asked my mom to sign me up for volleyball. They really inspired me to start playing.”
Soderlund is now a high school senior — still at Seacrest. Now, a decade later, it is Sami's turn to hoist a trophy over her head. Soderlund and the Seacrest volleyball team are headed to the state final four.
“I could tell when I got into the volleyball here something was a little different," Seacrest senior Milena Lopez said.
Seacrest Volleyball is different. If you can't tell, all you have to do is look up when you enter their intimate yet intimidating gym in Naples. Above the shiny court are four state championship banners — one commemorating the 2013 trailblazers and Soderlund's inspiration, and three more representing the three straight state titles the Stingrays have won the past three years.
“There’s something special about this gym," Seacrest Volleyball head Coach Andrew Wimmer said. "I think that comes from the kids that put their blood, sweat and tears into it.”
After a 13-5 regular season, Seacrest has swept its way through the postseason. The Stingrays now sit at 18-5 with a district championship and regional championship on their resume. However, the work is not done.
“We just finished a regional playoff game, and we said we’re coming back in and working harder today than we worked in the past two weeks," Wimmer said.
The work is more important now than ever. Seacrest is headed back to the state final four and is just two wins away from its fourth straight title.
“Working hard and getting better every day is really the most important thing," Wimmer said. "If a championship comes with that, then we’ve done the right things.”
“The word that I’ve been thinking of is faith," Lopez said. "I have faith in my teammates, faith in my coaches, just faith in all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”
That faith has been matched with talent this season. Seacrest is loaded with future college players. Four seniors are committed to Division I schools. Alexa Haley is headed to FGCU, Milena Lopez is going to Loyola Maryland, Ellie Joffe is committed to Charlotte, and Sami Soderlund is bound for Georgetown.
“It’s crazy because we’ve all known each other since we were 12, and we never would have thought, looking back, that we were all going to go D1," Soderlund said.
“They’re all my best friends, and we get to experience signing day together," Lopez added.
Their years-long bond is culminating in an amazing opportunity — hoist a championship banner every year of their high school career and become just the eleventh school in Florida history to win four or more consecutive titles.
“It would mean so much to me, especially because Seacrest is my second home," Soderlund said. "It’s not even that I’m doing it for myself. I’m doing it for my team and for this school.”
Seacrest plays in the state semifinals on Monday, November 4. If the Stingrays win, the state championship is set for Wednesday, November 6.