WINTER HAVEN — At long last, the wait is over for Boca Raton Christian volleyball.

The Blazers, who entered Wednesday’s Class 2A state title match having lost each of the last three finals, emerged victorious in sweeping fashion, defeating St. Edward’s in straight sets (25-20, 27-25, 25-22) for their first state championship.

Just one night after ending rival Seacrest Country Day’s dynasty run in the Class 1A semifinals, Boca Christian overcame a slow start to claim the coveted hardware in a night full of smiles for head coach Len Visser and the Blazers.

Sophomore Caroline Wright overcame an ankle injury in a night she will remember for a long time, having contributed a stellar night both offensively and defensively.

Boca Raton Christian’s title is Palm Beach County’s first in volleyball since Lake Worth Christian won the Class 2A title in the 2020 season.

It was a total team effort. In the aftermath of Tekoa Barnes’ impressive high-school career and a preseason injury to blossoming hitter Natalia Marciante, Boca Christian turned to a complex 6-3 system, running an offense through the dual-threat talents of various hybrid players.

Through the season, Visser says the team has emerged as a total family, as a team with complete reliability and trust with each other, from sparkplug Brianna Nahmod, who came off the bench to play in last year’s championship match unexpectedly after an injury, to players like captain Caitlin Crino, who has selflessly changed roles to fit the needs of the program.

The resulting state championship highlights the tenacity of a young group, and while the Class 1A semifinals victory was the ending of a dynasty, Wednesday’s championship victory could very well be the start of a new one.

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

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton Christian sweeps St. Edward’s for program’s first state title