WINTER HAVEN - Middleburg High's girls' volleyball team expected a good season, maybe a district title repeat and at least a deeper region playoff run under rookie head coach Meredith Forkum.

"Coach Prewitt (long-time Bronco coach Carrie Prewitt) left me with a good team and a solid foundation to start with," said Forkum, after her No. 1 seeded Lady Broncos (25-5) took the final step of a Cinderella-type season as they head to Winter Haven for a Wednesday Class 5A state semifinal against No. 4 Merritt Island (23-6) with a possible third matchup in the state championship with defending 5A champion Jensen Beach. No. 2 Jensen Beach (25-5) will face No. 3 Barron Collier (25-6) in the opposite state semifinal.

Ironically, Jensen Beach and Barron Collier are very familiar with each other with Jensen Beach beating Barron Collier 3-0 for the Class 5A title last year.

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"Coach Prewitt (long-time Bronco coach Carrie Prewitt) left me with a good team and a solid foundation to start with,"--Middleburg first-year coach Meredith Forkum

Middleburg, fresh off a final district title under Prewitt last year, with Forkum as her assistant coach, got bounced from the region playoffs in the quarterfinals by Ocala Vanguard with Vanguard also ousting Ridgeview in the region final to extinguish the Clay County entries in the state tournament.

Last week, Middleburg battled for a second time in less than two weeks; a district title to Middleburg and a region final to follow with the Lady Broncos regrouping after a quick 2-0 start (25-22, 25-20) and a Panthers third game win (25-22) to take the step to the Final Four with the fourth game win (25-23).

In the region final, Forkum followed the same strategy as the first match between the two with daughter Brooke Forkum dominating the net action (finished with 22 kills) while senior Connor Rahn sat back and waited to twist the dagger in game four with her 15 kills.

"That's our 1-2 punch, let Brooke soften them up with her big left-handed shots, then hit them with Connor when they think they've figured our strategy," said Meredith Forkum. "We kind of know that the Final Four teams will all be able to respond with their firepower so we have to establish our game quickly and then play mistake-free."

For the season, Rahn leads the Bronco scoring with 383 kills with Forkum adding in her point total of 343 making the duo a dominating offensive front. Both hitters have hit for double-digit scores in the last seven games with Forkum finishing with 22 in the region final against Ridgeview.

"I kind of told Connor that, as the senior, it's up to her to put her leadership to work on the court," said Forkum. "She is very unselfish out there and has even been outstanding on the back defensive line getting digs off the floor."

Middleburg volleyball alum Kasey Valentin was on hand for the region final game (dad is assistant coach for Middleburg) with Valentin playing in back-to-back Final Fours for Prewitt.

"When Connor made her line shot in the fourth game, that set the tone that Middleburg would not be denied. A hit like that is like a slam dunk in basketball; it's a game-changer. Once Connor finds her target, she is very hard to defend. I'm proud of the program and remember my Final Four days as being just as exciting."

-----Kasey Valentin, Class of 2015, two Final Four appearances as Libero

For Merritt Island, after three tournament losses in early October; one to Jensen Beach 2-1, the Falcons have rattled off even straight wins with a tense 3-2 region final win over a 21-6 Wesley Chapel squad.

Stats-wise, Merritt Island has its own 1-2 punch in junior Bella Schwantz with 282 kills and senior Camryn Childers with 233 kills. Where the Falcons have a slight edge is two more hitters; Senior Maddie Johnson and junior Elena Martin both with just under 200 kills.

Final Four histories

Jensen Beach: Consecutive region appearances for last 20 years; 10 Final Four, Five state titles

Merritt Island: Region appearances dating back to 1985 with consecutive appearances since 2005. Six Final Fours; two state titles (2018, 2011), two state runner-ups.

Barron Collier: Region appearances dating back to 1979; consecutive since 2000 with state runnerup 2017 (7A). Head coach Yamil Del Valle (hired 2018 season) has records of 21-10, 25-6, 17-1, 22-9 and 19-6. Lost to Jensen Beach in 5A final last year; lost to Merritt Island in 5A Final Four 2021.

Middleburg: Region appearances dating back to 1988 under Carrie Prewitt; six Final Four, two state runner-ups (4A, 2003, 2004).