ORLANDO – Getting her players to be gritty and competitive became a top coaching priority for Keisha Demps when she arrived to take over Academy 18 Diamond.

Months later, the group out of Raleigh, North Carolina, has listened well. The squad, which has great balance from front to back, scraps for every ball, serves well, and passes fast to set up scoring opportunities.

Academy’s style of play has it set up for a gold-medal run in Sunday’s Sunshine Volleyball Classic at the Orange County Convention Center. Academy is 6-0 overall, 12-2 in sets, through two rounds of pool play.