Strong showing for girls volleyball at the CM Cares Tournament

It was a big weekend for Raider volleyball, as Ransom Everglades earned four impressive victories to advance to the championship match of the CM Cares Tournament before finishing as runner-up. The Raiders opened the tournament with wins over Spanish River, St. Brendan, Nova, and Western, earning their place in the championship match against University. The Raiders battled throughout the final, but came up just short in two tightly contested sets. The strong weekend also helped propel the Raiders up the state rankings as they continued to build momentum toward the second half of the season. Sophomore Abby Zichella ’29 delivered an outstanding tournament, leading the Raiders with 55 kills and reaching the milestone of 500 career kills—an impressive achievement for a player only in her sophomore season. Junior Evangeline Steiner ’28 was close behind with 39 kills over the weekend. The Raiders also received tremendous contributions from sophomores Nalah Picchetti ’29 and Lola Picchetti ’29. Nalah orchestrated the offense with an impressive 101 assists, while Lola anchored the Raider defense with 71 digs throughout the tournament. For their outstanding performances, Zichella and Steiner were both named to the All-Tournament Team. With the runner-up finish, the Raiders improved to 13-3 on the season and will look to carry their momentum into their next match when they travel to LaSalle this afternoon for a 5 p.m. matchup.