TAMPA, Fla. — A sure thing in sports is hard to find. But when it comes to the Academy of the Holy Names volleyball team, there was a constant this season, a player the team could count on: Sophia Puleo.

Academy’s game plan is actually kind of simple — get it to the 6'1" 8th grader.

“She brings energy. She brings execution,” head coach Randy Thomas said. “I mean, when we need to score, we set the ball to Sophia. We know if we need to get a point, set the ball to Sophia. She’ll get it done.”

Sophia got it done, alright. The youngest member of the team, by a lot, helped lead the Jaguars to the Class 4A State Championship match. In the biggest match of her early high school career, Sophia led the team with 11 kills. The Jags came up short, losing to Santa Fe 3 sets to 1, but it didn’t deter Sophia, who is quite a ways from graduating high school, but already thinking about playing Division I volleyball.

“I put a lot of hard work into this sport, to see that pay off in some way, I think that would be a really big goal of mine,” Sophia said.

Sophia is such a dominant player, she makes you forget that she’s only an 8th grader.

“I don’t have another 8th grader on varsity. I don’t have another 9th grader on varsity,” Thomas said. “She’s playing with girls two years older than her. And not just playing, she is starting every match, contributing.”

Volleyball seemed like a natural fit for Sophia, given her height and her mom’s experience as a college player. She tried playing a lot of different sports, but there was just something about volleyball that kept her coming back for more.

“One day, I just tried playing it with my mom in the back yard and I just fell in love and started doing everything,” she said.

From her backyard to the biggest stage for a high school volleyball player, Sophia’s taken it all in stride.

Academy fell short in its quest for a state title, but look out for the Jags next season, especially its young star.

“For her to be an 8th grader, in a championship match, played an amazing four-set match against an extremely strong team, she’s bringing back more experience now than she ever could imagine,” Thomas said.

“We are going to win that title one of these next four years,” Sophia said. “I think it just kind of like lights a fire under the team where that’s obviously the peak of your career, so everyone wants to do it. We’re going to go back in and train to make it back there next year.”