Defending state volleyball champion Red Knights open season in Florida

The Incarnate Word Academy Red Knights and coach Shane Weber are looking to mix business with pleasure over the Labor Day weekend.

The defending state champion Red Knights will play in the Tournament of Champions at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe in Gainesville, Florida.

It is rated as the No. 1 high school volleyball tournament in the southeast. There are 86 teams from around the country participating. The tournament has a six-match guarantee. 

In the invite-only event, Incarnate Word will have three matches on Friday, Aug. 30 and three on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The girls will have a day on the beach on Sunday before flying back to St. Louis and returning to school on Tuesday.

“It’s an invite-only tournament for the top two divisions out of the four that set up,” said Weber, who was named the Class 4 Coach of the Year last fall by the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches. “We’re in there in the top two, so that’s good. We decided to go again. It was in Tampa last year, and we played teams from Texas, Florida, Iowa and Nebraska last year.

“We went 2-4 last year. It was challenging. The competition is really good but that’s what we want. We want to play the best and see how we stand.”

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