The Lady Brahmans prepare to receive a serve. [Photo courtesy OHS]

BELLE GLADE -The Okeechobee High School varsity Lady Brahman volleyball team made the trip to Belle Glade on Sept. 28 and left with a sweep of the Glades Day Lady Gators, winning in three sets.

Okeechobee won the first set 25-11 and the second 25-10, but the third set went down to the wire, with the Lady Brahmans holding on to win it 25-23.

It was the second time this season that Okeechobee beat Glades Day without dropping a set. The Lady Brahmans won the first meeting at home on Sept. 2 by set scores of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-8.

The win moved Okeechobee to 9-9 on the season, and the Lady Brahmans are 3-2 since snapping a three-match losing streak. Glades Day fell to 5-11 with its fifth straight home loss. Okeechobee is 2-1 in district play, good for third in 4A District 13.

Sophomore Azariah Washington has carried much of the load at the net this season. She had 35 kills in a comeback win over Sebastian River on Aug. 27. Okeechobee took the first set 28-26, dropped the next two 21-25 and 22-25, then rallied to win the fourth 25-17 and the fifth 15-9. Junior Kyli Spencer added five blocks. As a team, Okeechobee finished with 59 kills, 16 aces, 84 digs and 49 assists.

Four days later, the Lady Brahmans won another five-setter on the road against Somerset College Prep Academy on Aug. 31. They lost the first set 24-26, won the next two 25-17 and 25-21, dropped the fourth 22-25, and pulled away 15-5 in the fifth. Washington had 24 kills, while sophomore Kendall Chambers added 16 kills and six aces. Senior Kaylee Werk had nine kills, and sophomore Sofie Soriano had six. Junior Dahlia Grzech led the team with 32 assists, and Smith added 21 assists and four aces. Sophomore Kulipa Julian had a team-high 30 digs to go with six aces.

Okeechobee opened district play with a win over Port St. Lucie at home on Sept. 8. The Lady Brahmans won the first two sets 25-10 and 25-13, lost a close third set 25-27, and closed it out 25-20 in the fourth. Washington had 20 kills and hit .405. Okeechobee finished with 46 kills, 10 aces, 56 digs and 41 assists.

Through the season, Washington leads the team at 4.7 kills per set with a .177 hitting percentage. Chambers leads in aces with 26, Spencer leads in blocks with 14, and Julian leads in digs at 3.2 per set. Washington's 150 kills are listed among the district's stat leaders.

Okeechobee returns home to host Lake Placid on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The Lady Brahmans then play at Port St. Lucie on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. and at South Fork in a district match on Oct. 8.