Lakewood Ranch girls volleyball team has look of tournament contender

Some coaches prepare for a season weeks beforehand. Others like to have months to get a head start.

Jessica Leupold’s process begins nearly a year in advance.

Every December or January, the Lakewood Ranch girls volleyball coach meets with her rising seniors. Five sat down with her last winter to discuss goals, and brought with them a master plan.

“‘Alright coach, this is what we want to do. This is how we want to do it’,” Leupold said. “‘We understand your program, our standards. We want to implement it from the ground up.’”

That plan has worked — and then some. The Mustangs look the part of a serious regional contender.

Lakewood Ranch wrapped the regular season at 17-8 to secure its most wins since 2021. That includes five straight victories entering this week’s Class 6A District 11 tournament.

The Mustangs were 6-0 in a four-team district which also features Palmetto (13-10 overall, 2-4 district), Parrish Community (8-13, 1-3) and Manatee (11-14, 1-3). Across those victories, Lakewood Ranch seemed almost untouchable, outscoring the opposition by a combined 18-3 in sets played.

Substantial proof has been submitted that this squad is ready for its deepest run at the state level since 2014’s semifinalist finish in the FHSAA 7A state tournament.

“It’s nice to be on a team with a bunch of girls who want to take it to districts, who want to take it to regionals, and who don’t care how much hard work it takes,” said senior outside hitter Ava Collins. “But (we) just want to pull out every win we can.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

We’ve seen this film before, though.

The Mustangs held promise, too, last season. They entered the district tournament as the No. 1 seed after a 14-win regular season, eyeing a district championship and a regional victory or two.

None of that happened. Lakewood Ranch surrendered the district title to Parrish Community and fizzled out in the regional quarterfinals without even winning a set against Charlotte.

Indeed, last year’s team had a winning record, but this present team has winning traits. Look no further than Oct. 9’s regular-season finale at Palmetto — a perfect case study.

After losing the first set, 25-14, to a team they swept handily earlier in the season, the Mustangs won the next three without ever allowing the Tigers to touch 18 in a set. Senior outside hitter/right setter Kora Yanes chalked the first set up to “silly mistakes.”

That immediate, set-to-set adjustment is a universal quality among squads that thrive in the do-or-die nature of the playoffs. Be prepared to adapt, or be prepared to lose.

Lakewood Ranch’s start was uncharacteristic, but the way it finished was entirely in character.

“That’s who we are. We don’t let it get us down. We keep pushing, and every game from here on out, that’s our goal,” Leupold said. “We’re just going to keep pushing. That doesn’t matter if we’re down 24-1 — we’re not giving up.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

Collins and Yanes are at the forefront of every push. The two seniors wrapped their final regular season with 500-plus kills combined, and each with at least 200 have been quite complementary despite largely operating at the same position.

As of Oct. 8, Yanes is up to a team-high and career-best 252 kills in 2025 with a .237 hitting percentage. Collins has been comparatively more efficient, hitting at a rate of .326 to go with a 40.4% kill percentage, en route to surpassing 600 total kills in her three-year varsity career.

“We always feed off each other, sometimes a little too much, some people say,” Yanes said. “If one of us is down, because we always know how to talk to each other, we always know how to pull each other up.”

Their shared success is enabled by fellow seniors Julia Vendramini and Mariana Alvarez.

Vendramini, in particular, is integral to the fabric of who the Mustangs are. She’s been their primary setter for three seasons, and like Collins and Yanes, endured the many trials and tribulations of a 7-16 slog back in 2023 to become the contenders they are now.

Defensive setter Alvarez — with team-highs of 318 digs and 434 receptions — has excelled at holding down the fort to support Vendramini’s 359 assists, all as of Oct. 8.

These are the cogs of a well-oiled, point-piling machine. Leupold knows it.

Leupold said her players this season, more than ever before, have "decided they want it." 

 “They decided that they’re going to do whatever it takes to get the win, to get the ball, to get the play,” she said.

To pair with winning traits and a proven core, Lakewood Ranch has the sheer size up front to match up with the height it’s sure to face in the state tournament. 

Adalynn Lund, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, leads the block with 50 total as of Oct. 8. Combine her with sophomore Isabella Lorenzo (41) and junior Lylah Hatfield (33), and the team doesn’t even need its tallest player — junior Avarie Tholl at 6-foot-1 — to necessarily be the most productive.

The Mustangs just need to keep on galloping. Their season now depends on not slowing down.

“Doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter what games you've won in the past,” Yanes said. “You always have to go out fighting and all guns blazing.”

They had talent and experience in years past, as well as some victories to show for it. But it takes more than that to be special at this time of year.

Not since over a decade ago has this mixture been so potent.