Navarre, Pensacola Catholic and Jay claim district volleyball crowns

One day later, Navarre girls volleyball head coach Sloane FitzHenry was still trying to process it.

In her first year as the Raiders head coach, even after not practicing for a week during Hurricane Isaias , Navarre brought home its first district title in a program history with a 3-1 win over Pace in the District 1-6A final.

"It's just something we talked about all season long of wanting to do," FitzHenry said in a phone interview on Oct. 16. "Especially with such a big group of seniors. They've been in the program for so long and it's something they've been wanting."

All season, the Raiders had tried building to this moment. Even when they fell short against some of the area's top teams like Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Catholic and Tate, they knew being a part of the three-team district with Pace and Crestview that they still had a great opportunity in front of them.

That was until Isaias hit Oct. 9 and Navarre was just west of the eye. FitzHenry was having flashbacks to her junior year of high school, when Hurricane Harvey hit her hometown of Houston and her house flooded with six feet of water, forcing her to live in a one bedroom apartment and attend a different high school for months.

This year, some of her players had to evacuate and almost everyone had trees fall in their yard and lost fences. Once Navarre was told it could play, FitzHenry had to make sure everyone could come back. Some kids who played Thursday still didn't have power. But everyone was excited to return

"They were just happy to be back in the gym and be with each other," FitzHenry said. "This group is so close-knit, I think no matter what happens on the outside, once we stepped into that gym, all that mattered was we were in that gym and we wanted to win."

Since Navarre couldn't practice, FitzHenry told her to team to prepare mentally. Envision what they've wanted to accomplish all season. Toughness that helped in the district final, where all three sets were battled with the Raiders winning all by a score of 25-23. A large senior class led by program mainstays like Amiyah Byrd and Eden Kemsley, finally brought home some hardware.

The reward? A long trip down I-10 awaits, as the Raiders will be the No. 8 seed in Region 1-6A and learn their opponent in the FHSAA selection show at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. But after everything Navarre went through this week, that doesn't seem as daunting.

"We're getting to take a trip, and that's something they've really been wanting," FitzHenry said. "I'm so grateful that this is something they get to experience now and they want to play good teams. They want to play really good competition and I truly feel like that we as a team can take on anyone just by sticking together and playing our game, winning that serve and pass."

Pensacola Catholic sweeps South Walton for District 1-3A title

The Crusaders dominate the Wildcats in volleyball

Crusaders head coach Clay Carrell likes to break the season down into three parts.

Pensacola Catholic (23-4) had an excellent regular season, picking up homecourt advantage throughout the district tournament. They parlayed that into the program's first district title since 2022, sweeping Pensacola (25-9, 25-11, 25-5) in the semifinals on Oct. 16 and then South Walton (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) the next day to bring home the title.

"Proud of how my players came out ready to play," Carrell said in a text to the PNJ. "They started the sets off strong and when it got close they were able to find a way to score and push ahead."

Pensacola Catholic advanced to the 3A state semifinals last year , while South Walton (19-7) did the same in 4A before moving down a class in the most recent realignment. However, the Crusaders lost to North Bay Haven in the District 1-3A final last year before beating the Buccaneers in the Region 1-3A final.

That team finished the year 62nd in the MaxPreps state rankings, while this team currently ranks 27th in MaxPreps state rankings and 15th in the FHSAA rankings.

They'll be a top two seed in the Region 1-3A playoffs, which start Oct. 20 with the regional quarterfinals. Whether Catholic gets the top seed or not likely depends on whether Alachua Santa Fe, who entered the district tournament the top team in Region 1-3A and ninth overall in the FHSAA rankings, did enough to move into the top eight and qualify for the open division.

Top-ranked Jay repeats as Rural District 1 champions

See Jaguars take on Royals during Jay vs West Florida volleyball

After a rollercoaster week, the Lady Royals accomplished their goal.

Jay is clinched back-to-back Rural District 1 titles with a sweep of Baker (25-15, 25-15, 25-20) at Laurel Hill on Oct. 17.

"So proud of my girls," Jay head coach Carey Locklin said. "With the hurricane affecting our town so badly, with their homes damaged and no power for many days, they showed up for their town."

Coming off a 3-1 win at TR Miller, Alabama before Hurricane Isaias hit, Jay (24-2) was getting antsy to return to the court and build on that momentum. The Lady Royals were able to practice Wednesday and Thursday before going to districts, rolling with a sweep of Laurel Hill (25-8, 25-12, 25-23) in the semifinals before doing the same to Baker.

Last year was Jay's first district title in 30 years , snapping Baker's (18-5) streak of 22 straight. This year, the Lady Royals have beat the Gators in all three meetings in three different gyms, dropping just one set combined.

After advancing to the Rural Region 1 final last year, Jay will enter this year's state playoff as the No. 1 ranked team in the entire Rural classification. The Lady Royals have never advanced to the Final Four and are looking to make more history in the coming weeks, which starts with the Rural Region 1 semifinals on Oct. 24.

"We're playing really well right now and don't plan to let up," Locklin said. "Our goal is of course State, but we know what we have to do to get there. Stay focused and get one set at a time to get there.

Highlights of the Pace vs Gulf Breeze volleyball match

Dolphins head coach Steven Clay knew local teams thought this would be the year to get Gulf Breeze.

That remained true for every team in the panhandle, as the Dolphins beat all local competition except for Niceville. The Eagles ended Gulf Breeze's seven-year district title streak going on the road and beating the Dolphins 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16) at The Tank to win the District 1-5A title.

Niceville (21-4), who had lost to Gulf Breeze (18-5) in the District 1-6A final the last two years , also won at Gulf Breeze 3-2 on Sept. 17. The two teams were supposed to play again in Okaloosa County on Oct. 8, which was cancelled due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Isaias.

The Eagles controlled the delayed rematch, with the Dolphins rallying to steal the second set but otherwise struggling to keep up.

Gulf Breeze entered the district tournament as the top seed in a tight Region 1-5A, but will have to wait for the selection show to see where it ends up seed wise. The top five teams in the region are ranked fourth through eighth overall in class 5A, with the other four besides Gulf Breeze winning their respective district tournaments. If the Dolphins match up with a district champion in the regional quarterfinals, they'd have to play on the road.

"We've always been blessed with strong players in this program," Clay said after Gulf Breeze's District 1-5A semifinal win over Milton on Oct. 16. "But this year has been unique in that it's probably the biggest hodge podge of players we've ever had. What I mean by that is historically it's always been long-term indoor players. Now, a third of the team plays indoor, a third of the team plays beach, a third of the team didn't play anything. There was no built in chemistry to start the season and I'm super proud (of) as well as they have done."