A roundup of Manatee and Sarasota County high school sports for the week of August 17-21, 2026.
TUESDAY
Volleyball
Bradenton Christian 3, Cardinal Mooney 1: Bradenton Christian’s practice was so rough on Monday that head coach Zach VanDuinen had to stop it midway through. The Panthers’ warm-up before facing Cardinal Mooney on Tuesday wasn’t any better. But that offered no indication of how their first game of the season would go.
After dropping the first set, Bradenton Christian rebounded, winning the next three to defeat Cardinal Mooney at home 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 28-26). Junior Addelyn VanDuinen led the charge, recording over 15 kills and at least three aces. Junior Grace Hullinger also had over 15 kills.
Bradenton Christian’s defense kept the Panthers in the game behind timely kills from junior Kendal Kleppinger and senior Kelsey Jerome.
“We have to execute,” Zach VanDuinen said. “We have to pass well. We got to play good defense. And if we can do that, we give ourselves a chance. And tonight, we were able to serve just aggressive enough to keep them out of system, which for us was our game plan.”
While Mooney controlled the opening 10 points of the first set, Bradenton Christian crawled back in, inching within one point. Up 21-19, Cardinal Mooney won five of the next eight points to take it. Middle blocker Charlee Hermann recorded the final kill.
During the second set, the two teams traded points. Leading 16-15, Bradenton Christian won the next nine to even the score. Hullinger had two kills during the nine-point run, while Mooney suffered from errors.
Tied 11 in set three, Bradenton Christian went on a five-point tear, refusing to relinquish the lead from there. The Panthers won the last three points, capped by an Addelyn VanDuinen ace to win the set.
“We kind of had to get used to it,” Addelyn VanDuinen said of the first set, “And they were getting good swings. So, we had to make sure that we weren’t taking that into our heads and were moving onto the next point.”
Mooney and Bradenton Christian continued to trade points in the fourth. Tied 23-23, Addelyn VanDuinen had two kills while Hullinger added three, with the last being the final point to take down the Cougars.
Zach VanDuinen liked their competitiveness. While he knows there are things to work on as the season progresses, it’s a far cry from how the head coach thought they were going to perform after Monday’s practice.
“I was happy to see we had a different team out there tonight,” Zach VanDuinen said.
Sarasota 3, Braden River 0: The Sailors swept Braden River on Tuesday behind senior outside hitter Liza Collier, who had 13 kills. Senior middle hitter Gemma Mulhollen and sophomore outside hitter Zoey Mullen each contributed 11 kills. On the defensive side, senior libero/defensive specialist Mikala Moon, defensive specialist Sydney Mullen and defensive specialist Sacha Nolander combined for 33 digs. Setters Celia Collier and Hailey Lane also contributed 43 assists.
Imagine School 3, Booker 0: Imagine School swept Booker, winning the sets 25-7, 25-10 and 25-22. Middle hitter Stella Tracy had eight kills and three aces, while outside hitter Meghan Schwemer added 10 receptions and 30 digs. Sophia Sullivan had zero errors, three kills and 10 assists behind 25 service attempts. Cali Arrowood also added eight kills, while Schwemer and Loghan Brown combined for 40 digs. Aaliyah Oliveira recorded 13 assists on Tuesday.
Girls’ Golf
Cardinal Mooney 168, Sarasota 190
Cardinal Mooney: Brooke Stevens 35, Mia Kochanowicz 42, Mallory Stevenson 44, Ellie Horning 47. Sarasota; Sarasota: Georgia Howell 45, Giana Digiovanni 43, Kate Yun 49, Selby Kirschner 53
Out-of-Door Academy 158, Wellen Park 207: ODA’s Brooklyn Cullen won an individual medal, shooting four for 32. Daisey Quintal was the runner-up, shooting five over for 41.
MONDAY
Boys’ Golf
John Ryan Invitational
Sarasota opened its season by repeating as champion at the John Ryan Memorial Golf tournament hosted by Venice High School.
Teams: 1. Sarasota 287, 2. Lakewood Ranch 1 291, 3. Jesuit 310, 4. ODA 318, 5. Parrish 321, 6. Lakewood Ranch Silver 322, 7. Riverview 326, 8. Venice 327, 9. Pine View 332, 12. Venice 2 348, 15. Sarasota 360
Individuals: 1. Donovan Plakyda (LR) 70, 2. Jacob Menard (S) 71, 2. Jude Menard (S) 71, 4. Bennett Stencik (R) 72, 4. Geno Chiellini (J) 72, 4. Braden Fernandez de Castro (S) 72, 7. Declan Young (LR) 73, 7. Blake Dejongh (S) 73, 7. Daniel Bessonov (O) 73, 10. Owen Gellatly (LR) 74, 10. Will Thomas (LR) 74, 10. Alexander Makarewicz (LR) 74, 13. Tristan Pasch (P) 75, 14. Trey Susa (LR) 76, 14. Carson Adams (V) 76
Girls Golf
Riverview 181, Manatee 204, Wellen Park 217, Lakewood Ranch Prep 222: In a preseason match at University Park Country Club, Rams captain Ariana Zawrotny was medalist with a 41, with fellow captain Hayden Maniglia as runner-up with a 45. Sophomore Aubree Kerwin of Riverview placed fourth with a 46. Manatee’s Mackenzie Rupprecht tied for second with a 45, and Ashton Brown was fifth with a 47.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota, Manatee Roundup: Results from first week of 2026 fall season
Reporting by Emma Moon, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Emma Moon, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
