Forest volleyball falls to Southwest in five-set thriller

SOUTHWEST RANCHES – Klistan Lawrence tried his best to keep Forest’s unblemished season going a little longer.

But in the end the hits from their opposition kept coming from all sides and the hill was too much to climb for a Wildcats’ team which had achieved so much so quickly.

Forest’s march to state in its program’s third season ended Friday night after a five-set (25-18, 25-16, 19-25, 24-26, 15-9) loss to Southwest Miami in a state quarterfinal at Archbishop McCarthy High School.

The Wildcats (16-1), who were ranked 11th in the nation and fifth in the state, according to MaxPreps, rallied after losing the first two sets to force a decisive fifth set.

However, Southwest, a runner-up in 2019 the last time the state tournament was held, shook off Forest’s comeback led by a balanced attack from senior Jack Hershman and junior Alessandro De La O.

“Not the storybook ending we wanted, but I couldn’t be more proud of these boys,” said Forest coach Jason Wigginton, who had no previous experience coaching volleyball when he took over the program, which was in its first year of postseason eligibility. “We had some nerves and made a few mistakes. If we had seven sets to play, I’d give it to my boys. But we couldn’t get it done in five.”

Lawrence got his share of kills in the first set. But Southwest took advantage of Forest errors and found offense from multiple sources while recording several aces to take the first 25-18 and dominate the second.

But Forest, which had only lost three sets the entire season, finally sustained some momentum in the third to open a 21-15 lead and hung on to win it.

“They had the heart and we taught the mindset that it’s not over till it’s over,” Wigginton said. “We just have to build for the future.”

Lawrence in tandem with setter Sebastian Rivera continued to battle back and forth with the Eagles throughout the fourth to a 22-22 draw before two consecutive kills by Lawrence helped Forest close out the set and force a fifth.

“I’ve been playing club with Klistan for about five years,” Hershman said. “It was him, him, him all day and one guy almost stopped all six of us. It’s fun playing against him. He’s a great player.”

But Hershman’s pinpoint serving and attacks propelled Southwest in the decisive set as his three consecutive points started a 12-6 run to clinch the match.

Lawrence is one of three seniors on Forest’s squad, which will have to rebuild following the loss of their superstar.

“One of a kind player,” Wigginton said about Lawrence. “You see that player who has that killer instinct on the court, but is the most humble, polite young man you’ll ever meet off the court. I know as much as he gave, he received from these boys learning from him.”