Ocean City Girls Volleyball Stuns Paul VI in Reverse Sweep

The No. 1 team in the state, Paul VI, wanted to play a strong team down in South Jersey with the hopes of preparing for playoff action. The Ocean City Red Raiders headed to Camden to face the Eagles and stunned Paul VI by the score of 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 28-26, 30-28, 15-9).

Ocean City head coach Jillian Garza said, “Honestly, I feel my girls went in with confidence and hype from the very beginning. They told me back in the spring that they wanted to play the best teams out there. We knew PVI was skilled and we knew it was going to be a challenge.”

Paul VI was feeling pretty good, one would think, leading the match 2-0. Junior Khloe Greene-Gordon was leading the way for the Eagles in terms of scoring and Lyla Rossi was running a strong offense.

Set number three came along, and the Red Raiders were not going to go down without a fight. In fact, the third and fourth sets both went well into extra points and Ocean City hung around and snagged both sets which forced a decisive fifth set.

“I think what changed in the third set is that we got a lead on them. We just needed a little momentum to fully unleash and push it to the next level,” Garza added, “At no point in sets one or two did I doubt that we would give up. I just continued to encourage them and stay positive because we were in it and competing at their level for every set.”

Ocean City was ultimately able to pull away and come out of Camden with the victory, taking down the top team in the state.

Bradee Boyd is one of the elite players in all of New Jersey, and Thursday evening she put on a show by cranking 45 kills to go along with 13 digs and 4 aces.

“Bradee is an amazingly skilled volleyball player and an absolute powerhouse. She has natural court sense and makes really smart plays. At the same time, she is coachable, humble, and selfless. She will acknowledge her entire teams’ hard work and credit that to her success, especially showcasing her sister, Rylee,” Garza added, “Her mom clearly raised both her, and her sister, Rylee, with so much love, character, and integrity. It is a pleasure to coach an athlete of that caliber.”

Rylee Boyd, Bradee’s younger sister, dished out 54 assists and the Red Raider offense was running like a well-oiled machine. 

Bradee Boyd said, “I knew Paul VI was a really strong blocking team. Communicating with my setter (and little sister) about speeding up my tempo to beat the block and knowing what shots would score offensively, was key. Rylee and I worked on it a lot every week. Rylee is such a skilled setter, and I wouldn’t have had the game I did without her tempo and performance. She still had faith in me when I got blocked or made an error and continued to set me up for more kills. I also attribute a lot to my teammates in the back row who were serve receiving and playing defense the way we needed to run a powerful offense. They showed up and excelled in all the ways we needed them.”

Bradee Boyd is committed to play volleyball at Pepperdine after the conclusion of her senior campaign, and she does not just excel at indoor volleyball. Boyd plays beach volleyball at a high level, competing in various AVP events.

“I love both!” Boyd said with joy, “One of the things I really enjoy about indoor volleyball is the team camaraderie. I love that beach helps me so much with my indoor game. It challenges me to mix up my shots and kills. I plan on playing both at Pepperdine.”

Beach volleyball can also help speed a player up when moving in the sand, this way when they go indoors, that player does not have the sand resistance.

Volleyball runs deep within the Boyd family. In addition to her sister, Rylee, their mom was a star at Florida Atlantic University. Bradee picked up volleyball at a young age and has never put one down, except for recording kills, of course.

“My mom played D1 at FAU and I basically grew up with a ball in my hand. I started playing club when I was 7 years old. I fell in love with it and having it in my family has always fueled my love for the game,” Boyd said.

With the victory, Ocean City improved to 15-0 and is undoubtedly going to earn the top seed in the Cape Atlantic League tournament. The Red Raiders had not dropped a set all season long until Thursday, and will look to defend their CAL crown and have their sights set higher than that.

Garza said, “I started the girls’ volleyball program at OCHS in 2022, so I am still early in my coaching career. I am continually growing and learning with help and appreciation of so many other coaches. It’s often hard to put into words how proud I am of my girls and their accomplishments. I always try to be positive and build their confidence as much as possible. I let them take the lead and have a voice in the huddle and pregame in the locker room. I truly believe in them and want them to succeed and have fun!”

Ocean City will face Pinelands and Williamstown this weekend, before facing Kingsway on Wednesday.