Class 8A volleyball final four preview capsule: Manatee at Winter Springs

Who: Manatee (25-4) at Winter Springs (28-2)

When: 2 p.m.

How they got here: Manatee won Class 8A-Region 2 with a 3-1 victory against Kissimmee Osceola on Tuesday. Winter Springs swept Winter Garden West Orange 3-0 in the Region 1 championship.

Winner gets: Either Jupiter or Miami Ferguson in the Class 8A state championship Nov. 14.

Outlook: Manatee is one win away from getting a shot to defend its Class 8A state title. To get there, the Hurricanes will have to avenge a 2-1 loss to Winter Springs from earlier this season. The Bears, who have never won a state title, moved up a class this season after reaching the 7A state championship last year. Winter Springs fell to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in the title game. The Bears' offense is led by outside hitter Payton Caffery, who has recorded 533 kills this season at a 56.1 percent clip. The Canes will counter her with Jacqui Armer, a Louisiana State commit. The middle blocker stuffed back six shots in their region championship match against Kissimme Osceola. Fellow senior Haley Coulter, an outside hitter verbally committed to Tulsa, paced Manatee's offense with 15 kills.

Prediction: Winter Springs in five sets.

-- David B. Wilson, Herald staff writer

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Class 8A volleyball final four preview capsule: Manatee at Winter Springs ."