TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - On Tuesday night, the Leon High School volleyball team punched their ticket to their first State Semifinal since 2011 with a straight set win over Creekside, but the ladies have much bigger dreams than an appearance in the Final Four.
The ultimate goal? A State Championship, something they last did in 2011. Angie Strickland was the head coach then, as she is now, but no player on this squad has experienced that feeling before.
For the first time ever, the ladies will play their Final Four match at home, usually it's played at a neutral site, when they welcome in Tampa Plant on Saturday. It's no secret Leon comes that "District of Death," and the girls agree playing such tough competition has prepped them for success.
"The supposed District of Death has definitely helped us with rivalries as well as dealing with emotional games," said senior Elyse Thompson. "Not many people play as hard teams in their first District round as we have to, so that prepares us very well."
"We've been talking about this year since we were freshmen," said Jaynie Mitchell, who is also a senior. "Now that it's finally coming and everything is falling together, it's the best feeling in the whole entire world to know that what we've worked for the past four years is all coming together."
Leon's match with Plant starts at 2:00 at Leon High School.
