Region Volleyball: Gulf Breeze bests Navarre for fourth time in '22, Washington out in quarters
Here's a roundup of volleyball regional-quarterfinal matches involving Pensacola-area teams played on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Region 1-6A Quarterfinals
No. 2 Gulf Breeze 3, No. 7 Navarre 0
Gulf Breeze hosted Navarre in a matchup of two teams plenty familiar with one another. Six days after clashing for a district championship, the rivals battled for the fourth time this season.
On Wednesday night, just like the previous three meetings, the Dolphins came out on top.
The Raiders gave it all they could, but the depth of the Dolphins was too much again for them, like it has been all season.
The Dolphins won in three sets with the scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-16.
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Navarre held an early lead in the first set, but failed to close it out. The teams were tied 20-20 before the visitors piled up the mistakes. The Dolphins finished the set on a 5-0 run, which started with a Raiders bad serve.
Camryn Brooks collected eight kills between the second and third set for the home team. The senior outside hitter and defensive specialist finished the night with 10 kills, as she surpassed 500 kills for her career.
“She really locked down," Gulf Breeze head coach Jasmine King. "Last time we played Navarre, she was really sick and realized this would be her last time playing against them today."
Navarre had no one to match her energy. They also had a hard time creating any offense for themselves late in sets. The Dolphins front line of 6-foot senior middle hitters Alana Kolb and Savannah Browning put on a block party.
Brooks got help from sophomore outside hitter Bella Satterwhite in the third set as the duo helped close out the Raiders.
Satterwhite finished the game with eight kills. She has really stepped up as the second star for the Dolphins in the closing weeks of the season.
“Bella is still very young and there are little things I tell her to help make adjustments, and sometimes she doesn’t. She overpowers that though with how she plays on the court. King said. "She is tall, but plays defense like a 5’4 libero. She is fast, scrappy, and very confident."
Winners of its last 19 matches while improving its record to 24-3, Gulf Breeze, the second-seed in the Region 1-6A, is host to third-seeded Mosley (21-5). The match is tentatively scheduled 7 p.m. Saturday.
On Sept. 13, Gulf Breeze defeated the defending Class 5A state champions in its only five-set match this season.
Navarre's (19-9) season ends as it couldn’t get over the Dolphins hump.
Here are three takeaways from Gulf Breeze.
Reaching a milestone
Brooks has checked off several boxes in her high school career. Following another strong night attacking, she crossed off another. The University of West Florida commit surpassed 500 kills for her career.
More than half of that total was amassed in 2022 as she entered the regional quarterfinal with a team-best 284 kills.
Averaging 3.7 per set this season, Brooks now has at least one more match to see how high that total can go.
'You can’t relax'
The opening set was a microcosm what the teams' four meetings have been.
The Raiders have been in every set against their rival this season, but somehow haven’t closed. Winning 12 of 13 sets overall, the Dolphins and their experience have been the difference in these close sets and matches.
Navarre will take it as a growing experience.
“It takes time to get comfortable when you are in that position," Raiders head coach Ryan Davenport said. "You hit 20 against a great team, you can’t relax. We had errors at the end of the set. The same thing happened in the first matchup when we were up 23-19 in our house. They are learning lessons though."
Raiders will be back
Davenport has turned this program.
Totaling 24 wins from 2018-20, the Raiders have recorded 19 wins in each of the last two years. That mark is good enough for the third-most wins in a single season in school history. They also reached the district title match in back-to-back years.
Navarre seeks continued success with a younger core as the team graduates six seniors, headlined by the 5-11 outside hitter Kyra McKelvey, a Southeastern Louisiana commit who entered the night 837 career kills.
Davenport was forced to play younger players a little more because of some injuries to starters. It hurt them against tougher opponents like Gulf Breeze, but will ultimately help the program's development.
The Raiders' future is bright, and it will be tough for any opponent to beat them four times in one year moving forward, even if that team on the other side is the Dolphins
“I couldn’t be prouder." Davenport said. "We had three major injuries that put a dent into our bench. The girls were resilient until the very end. It is going to hit hard for our seniors in a little bit but for the players coming back I hope the fire continues to burn."
— Greg Hollis
Region 1-5A Quarterfinals
No. 6 Ridgeview 3, No. 3 Booker T. Washington 1
With their season on the brink, Wildcat players on the floor, as well as players and coaches on the bench, released emphatic reactions every time the team scored a point.
Third-seeded Booker T. Washington displayed heart while trailing midway through the fourth set and down two sets to one. Twice, the team trimmed its deficit to two in hopes of orchestrating a rally. But when it was all said and done, the opponent was far too strong.
Using a 6-1 run to close out the fourth, No. 6 Jacksonville Ridgeview made the most out of a five-hour trip by earning a regional quarterfinal victory Tuesday night from the Ronnie and Janis Bond Gym. Set scores were 23-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18.
With the win, the Panthers play No. 2 Lincoln in a regional semifinal match on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ season ends with a 16-9 record.
“Ridgeview just didn’t quit,” said Brandy Bradley, who finished her first season as Booker T. Washington head coach. “For our girls, we just got to fight and want it.”
The home team stole the first set after rallying from a 19-10 hole.
Spurred on by a pair of aces from junior middle hitter Lyla Davis, the Wildcats used a 7-0 spurt to slice into the gap. From there, junior middle blocker Mallory Dickerson, sophomore outside hitter Hannah Bradley and senior outside hitter Alyx Zapatka recorded seven of the next eight points to put the Wildcats up a set.
However, Booker T.’s monstrous comeback did not carry over as Ridgeview controlled the second and third sets before sealing it in the fourth.
“I just had to calm my girls down and remind them of ball control and the fundamentals: swing high, swing hard, swing cross and let our hitters do the work,” Panthers head coach Stephen Henry said.
Here are three takeaways from Booker T. Washington's defeat.
Sluggish out of the gates
Watching her team get whistled for back-to-back violations to trail 8-3 early in the first set, Brandy Bradley didn't waste much time motioning for a timeout. As her players grabbed their seats, the coach stood back for a moment before imploring them play with more energy.
The Wildcats eventually answered the call and stormed back in the first set, but they couldn't muster another comeback in the second. The hosts relinquished nine of the first 11 points and never got closer than a six-point gap.
"I think we came out flat, but then we picked it up. We just had to keep that momentum and go from there," Brandy Bradley said.
Mighty middles
While Booker T. Washington struggled to get going, Ridgeview, particularly its presence in the middle, was well up to speed.
The 6-foot duo of sophomore middle blocker Katie Cole and junior middle blocker Haley Robinson went on the offensive with a series of quick attacks.
Often, senior libero Kasey Casiple, who led the Panthers with 26 digs, sent a clean reception toward the net to Mariah Bostic-Jones. The junior setter targeted either Cole or Robinson, who would swiftly drill a spike into open space.
“Every single game, our main goal is to use our middles every single time, especially (Robinson)," Henry said. "She’s No. 1 in the state of Florida in hitting percentage, so we try to feed her as much as possible.”
Cole paced the team with 15 kills while Robinson finished with 11. They were the only visiting players to finish with double-figure kills.
"(The Panthers) have two powerful middles, which is great to have for any team," Brandy Bradley said. "They utilized that and our block wasn't there watching where the hit was going."
"Our blocking definitely could've been better," Booker T. Washington senior middle hitter Kayden Engel said. "We tried, we were there, we just couldn't get it in time."
'Whole lot of fun'
The Wildcats have reeled off three-straight winning seasons after posting losing records in the prior three years. Their 2022 campaign included four victories against state-playoff teams.
After finishing as the District 1-5A runner-up and hosting a regional quarterback, Brandy Bradley believes her team has much to be proud of.
"Overall, I think girls fought hard," she said. "I'm looking forward to next year, we have a lot of returners coming back and it'll be exciting to see what we have."
The Wildcats will lose four seniors due to graduation. That list includes Zapatka, who led the team in kills, and Engel, who entered the night second in blocks.
"I definitely feel like this season was a good season. I had a whole lot of fun," Engel said. "We played very together and our new coach was good. I felt like it was a good senior season."
— Patrick Bernadeau
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
Greg Hollis is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at ghollis@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Region Volleyball: Gulf Breeze thwarts another Navarre effort, advances
