By Kyle Coppola
Umatilla High Volleyball Sees Record-Breaking Season Start
The Umatilla High School volleyball team is off to a blazing 6-1 start this season, which is the best start the school has had since modern online record keeping started in the mid 2000’s. Powered by senior leadership and some amazing teamwork, this volleyball team is one of the strongest anyone has ever seen at Umatilla. The strength of the program has been no more evident than a dramatic five-set comeback win over Tavares.
After dropping the second and third sets, Umatilla did not let themselves get rattled, rallying behind standout performances from senior outside hitter Lynzee Bowling and senior middle Jayda Washington to take the match in five. Lynzee tallied 14 kills, 16 digs, and an ace, sealing the match with a kill that glanced off the block and landed just out of bounds.
(From left to right “Top” – #15 Madalenn Sanders, #7 Jayda Washington, #13 Lynzee Bowling, #8 Jewel Winchester, “Bottom” 14 Paityn McAuliffe, #3 Briona Hall, #10 Samantha Merrill.)
Jayda added 10 kills, 8 blocks, and 5 digs in a dominant two-way performance that helped spark the Bulldogs’ comeback.
“This team is a fresh team with 7 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 3 freshmen,” says coach Amanda McDade. “The dynamic of the group is one of the best ones I have seen so far. They all get along great and are very encouraging towards each other on and off the court. This team has a lot of potential and we are excited moving forward to see the accomplishments they make.”
The early-season stats back that excitement. Through seven matches, Umatilla has totaled 51 aces, 100 kills, 17 solo blocks, 18 assisted blocks, 78 assists, 337 digs, and 159 service receive passes, a balanced effort across all phases of the game.
(The Umatilla High Volleyball team is having one of it’s best starts to a season in school history at 6-1.)
It was just a few years ago that Umatilla would lose against Tavares High in straight sets. In fact, Umatilla had multiple winless seasons not even a decade ago. This team has come incredibly far in the past ten years. Under the leadership of coach McDade, the Lady Bulldogs are in one of the best positions to start the season in school history. Having tracked all the way back to 2006, we cannot find any record of Umatilla starting off 6-1 on the year.
(Umatilla High School Coach Amanda McDade has been instrumental in the success of the Umatilla High School girls volleyball program. She has really helped the program reach new heights.)
That is an incredible accomplishment and we are very excited to see just how far this team can go in 2025. One thing is for sure, Umatilla High School sports and in the best shape I have seen in a very long time. This team has been a great surprise to start the year off on such a strong foot.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
