King’s Academy boys volleyball sweeps Class 1A championship match

• King’s Academy boys volleyball won the Class 1A state championship, the first in school history.
• The Lions defeated Sports Leadership and Management (Tampa Bay) 3-0 in the final.
• Key players included seniors Jake Manning, John Casey, Dylan Wahl, Ryan Huff, David Brainard, and Graysen Amestoy.
• The team finished the season with a 22-5 record.

King’s Academy’s boys volleyball program is leaving Polk State College, home of the Class 1A state championship match, with the first title in school history.

The Lions brought out the celebratory brooms, defeating Sports Leadership and Management (Tampa Bay) with a 3-0 sweep to clinch the state hardware.

Two years after making it to the state series during their sophomore year, Jake Manning, John Casey, and Dylan Wahl broke through during their senior years, while senior teammates Ryan Huff, David Brainard, and Graysen Amestoy also ended their high school careers on a high note.

“Very exciting,” head coach Danielle McCoy said. “It was the goal from the beginning of the season. We had a mission after a tough loss last year in the regional championship, so the boys were very motivated to go as far as we could go.”

After losing to Seminole Ridge in the regional championship last year, King’s defeated Cardinal Gibbons in the same round during this year’s campaign, the only match to really test their limits during their entire postseason run.

Returning to the state series, it was a collective effort from a roster dominated by upperclassmen from King’s Academy.

“Graysen Amestoy definitely became another player this year,” McCoy said. “Ryan Huff came over from Jupiter High and had a huge impact on our season. Our setter, Jake Manning, is a leader and captain and is our calm, really, when we get emotional. And then Isaiah is a big part of our offense.”

King’s was positively dominant this postseason, which saw the Lions tally six shutouts from the beginning of the postseason to the end, including a sweep of JC Bermudez Doral Volleyball in the Class 1A state semifinals.

The Lions finish the year with a 22-5 record in the fourth year of program history.

Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.