COCONUT CREEK, FLA. (WSVN) – A South Florida high school volleyball team is on track toward a state title, and their head coach said laserlike focus, drive and a young star player are key to their success.
The North Broward Preparatory School’s girls volleyball team has been on a mission since day one of the season. The Eagles, at 24 and 2, are ranked number one in Class 4, 11th in the state.
“When I first got hired back in January, like, we had a quick little, like, roundtable, like, ‘Hey, like, what’s our goal for the year?” said head coach Brian Coughenour. “And the number one word they came up with was ‘competitive, we want to be competitive, we want to go out the gate,’ and that was – they bought in right away.”
Gargano came in with the team loaded with seniors, but it’s his youngest player who’s turned out to be one of the best for the Eagles.
Emma Luehrs plays the center position. She feeds the ball to her teammates for the slams at the net.
Luehrs is only 14 years old, an eighth grader playing beyond her years.
“Confidence is the biggest thing for me. If you go in, like, not being ready, feeling like you’re not able to be here, but you know, like, I’m here for a reason,” she said.
Luehrs started playing volleyball on travel teams when she was 8.. She’s already surpassed 1,000 career assists.
“Very overwhelming, but then I was like, ‘You know what? Just like, all I have to do is be myself and work really hard towards this opportunity,’” she said.
“It’s been fun watching the seniors kind of rally around her. She’s really kind of what helps us go,” said Coughenour.
North Broward Prep just beat Mather Lakes Academy for the regional championship, helping to lead the Eagles’ win with senior defensive captain Destiny Wiggins. Her cousin is former Miami Heat captain Udonis Haslem.
Wiggins said she leads by example, just like her cousin once did.
“It’s business. We have to be locked in, like, at all times because, like, every team wants to beat us. We are the team to beat, so yeah, it’s pretty straightforward business,” she said.
North Broward Prep will face Southwest Florida’s Lemon Bay High School in the state semifinals on Friday. The winner of that match heads to the final round on Saturday.
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