MaxPreps Volleyball Tour of Champions celebrates Oviedo High School

The 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard passed through Florida on Friday, February 1 to recognize Oviedo (Fla.) High School and its girls volleyball team for winning a state championship and earning a high national ranking.

Having upended Palm Beach Gardens 25-17, 25-15, 25-10 in the FHSAA Class 9A state championship contest, the 28-4 Lions claimed their second state volleyball title, earned the No. 8 ranking in MaxPreps National Rankings and played their way into the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers' Poll at No. 15!

MaxPreps and the Florida Army National Guard were on hand to celebrate Oviedo's first state volleyball title since 2013 when the Lions competed in Class 7A. Oviedo swept 22 foes last fall, losing just 17 sets in 2018. Three of their four loses were to highly ranked teams – top-ranked Mater Dei of Santa Anna, California, No. 38 Leon (Tallahassee, Fla.) and No. 71 Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.).

The Tour of Champions arrived on campus around noon and was greeted by activities director and head volleyball coach Jennifer Darty. Already at the high school, Sergeant First Class Aaron Runzel of the Florida Army National Guard was visiting with students about the Army National Guard and showcasing the Army National Guard national ranking trophy.

Dressed in their Army National Guard Tour of Champions t-shirts, Darty and the Lions were introduced, along with two other state championship teams, to a crowd of about 1,000 screaming fans.

MaxPreps representative Glenn Martin kicked off the program by talking briefly about the significance of the award and of the fantastic work MaxPreps does in emphasizing and promoting high school athletics. Martin explained the partnership between MaxPreps and the Army National Guard before congratulating the Lions girls volleyball team and defining their championship season. Martin then introduced SFC Runzel who greeted the crowd and congratulated the Lions and their coaches on an outstanding volleyball season. "Courage, commitment and unity are just a few qualities that superior athletes, along with the men and women of the Army National Guard, have in common," SFC Runzel said before presenting the Army National Guard national ranking trophy and a nationally ranked rafter banner to Darty, who had just completed her 9th season.

"This team competed at a high level nationally all year," Darty said. " We're all about the process and not about the wins. This is a great honor."

Congratulations to the Oviedo High School Lions for your outstanding character, leadership and team success! You are ranked eighth nationally out of 20,000 high school volleyball teams. Click here to view the Oviedo TOC photo gallery and for more information about the Volleyball TOC, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.