Southwest's Diaz and Reagan's Gonzalez are the Dade Boys' Volleyball Players of the Year
The best athletes have that intangible factor, which elevates their team in the toughest of moments.
Some call it the 'clutch gene.'
Juanmarco Diaz has had that for years on Southwest's boys' volleyball team.
And over at Reagan High, they hadn't seen something quite like that in a player until Yeison Gonzalez donned a Bison uniform this season.
The two talented and versatile outside hitters helped their respective teams overcome the odds and secure state runner-up finishes this season.
As such, Diaz and Gonzalez are the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Co-Players of the Year.
Diaz won the honor for the third consecutive season as he completed a stellar career, which began his sophomore season when he guided the Eagles to their third state title all-time.
This season with a younger roster overall, Southwest found itself in more of an underdog role for most of its top matches.
But Diaz's efforts throughout the playoffs propelled the Eagles to huge wins including a win over Columbus in the Class 3A regional final.
Unfortunately for Southwest, its bid for redemption fell short in a three-set loss to Winter Park in the state final.
'It was something we expected,' Diaz said. 'We knew Winter Park had much better players than we did and we were really young this season and not expected to make it back. But we pushed through and made it happen.'
Diaz, a 5-11 senior who is signed to play college volleyball at Northern Kentucky, totaled 191 kills, 101 digs and 77 assists. Over his career, Diaz proved himself one of the most versatile and talented players in the state.
'I love that and I take on any challenge and just have to enjoy any experience that comes my way,' said Diaz, who plans to study finance and accounting.
Gonzalez, a 6-2 outside hitter who has signed to play for Barry University, had experience already when it came to leading a young program to the state tournament.
A year after leading Mater Lakes there, Gonzalez took Reagan's program to new heights, leading them to the Class 2A state championship match.
He finished with a staggering 446 kills, 168 digs and 56 aces.
'He's brought so much to our program,' said Reagan assistant coach Joshua Garavito of Gonzalez. 'I'm sure it was a very tough decision for him to transfer over and people were always chirping to him about he had made the wrong decision and stuff like that. But he never let it get to his head and stayed strong throughout the process.'
The Bison advanced to their first state final and went 25-5, proving themselves one of the top teams overall in the state.
The FHSAA expanded boys' volleyball to a three-classification format for the first time this season.
Reagan's run ended with a loss in the 2A final to Winter Park Lake Howell, but beat some of Dade's best teams including two wins over Class 3A state runner-up Southwest and victories over Columbus, Palmetto and Belen Jesuit along the way.
Before this season, the Bison had never advanced past the regional semifinals.
'I love the faculty and staff here, it's been an honor to help this program to success,' Gonzalez said.
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