Five Pensacola area volleyball teams now know their path to the Final Four after brackets were released Oct. 18. District tournaments were supposed to wrap Oct. 16 but wrapped a day later locally after teams got an exception due to damages from Hurricane Isaias
Navarre (6A), Pensacola Catholic (3A) and Jay (Rural) already knew they were in the field by winning their respective district titles, while Gulf Breeze (5A) and Booker T. Washington (4A) picked up at-large bids. No local teams qualified for the FHSAA’s brand new Open Division, though a couple that did had direct ramifications on Region 1 brackets.
Playoff action will start with regional quarterfinals on Oct. 20 for classes 1A-3A and Oct. 21 for classes 4A-6A. Regional semifinals for all classes will be Oct. 24, followed by regional finals for Rural and 1A-3A on Oct. 27 and 4A-6A on Oct. 28.
All roads lead to Polk State College and the Winter Haven Health Center for the state semifinals and finals, which will take place Nov. 2-7.
Below are the regional brackets featuring Pensacola-area teams and what to know in each classification. District champions are marked with an asterisk (*) and will host a regional quarterfinal unless matched up with a higher-seeded district champion.
Region 1-6A
(1) DeLand* (24-3) vs. (8) Navarre* (12-12)
(4) Seminole (16-9) vs. (5) Buchholz (13-9)
(2) Oviedo* (24-3) vs. (7) Hagerty (11-14)
(3) Lake Brantley (15-11) vs. (6) Forest (15-13)
Analysis: Fresh off its first ever district title, Navarre will make the trip 400 miles east to just outside Daytona Beach. DeLand was slated to be in the Open Division in the pre-district tournament FHSAA rankings before dropping back into the Region 1-6A field. Beachside, which won the District 2-6A title, will play in the Open Division. Oviedo are the defending 6A state champions, including a win at Gulf Breeze in last year’s Region 1-6A final.
Region 1-5A
(1) Ponte Vedra* (17-4) vs. (8) Leon (17-10)
(4) Middleburg* (16-11) vs. (5) Gulf Breeze (18-5)
(2) Chiles* (19-7) vs. (7) Gainesville (14-13)
(3) Niceville* (23-4) vs. (6) Fletcher (18-8)
Analysis: The district tournaments shook up a region tight at the top. Gulf Breeze entered the week as the No. 1 seed in the region according to the FHSAA rankings, but dropped all the way to the No. 5 seed after the four teams ranked below them all won district tournaments. Ponte Vedra went from No. 4 to No. 1 while Middleburg also jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 after winning district titles. Chiles and Niceville remained No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Tate, who was 21 spots ahead of Leon in the overall state rankings before districts, didn’t make the field. Chiles is the two-time defending 5A state champions, while Ponte Vedra, Middleburg and Leon have all won state titles within the last decade.
Region 1-4A
(1) Fleming Island* (22-3) vs. (8) Wakulla (14-10)
(4) Bishop Kenny (13-15) vs. (5) Yulee* (16-7)
(2) Arnold* (17-8) vs. (7) Booker T. Washington (12-13)
(3) Choctawhatchee* (15-10) vs. (6) Fort Walton Beach
Analysis: The Wildcats qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 2018 and will travel to Panama City to face an Arnold squad coming off its first district title in a decade. Booker T. hasn’t won a state playoff game since 2008, when it advanced to the Region 1-4A final. Arnold hasn’t won one since 2017, when it beat Wakulla in the Region 1-4A quarterfinals. Booker T. is one of three District 1-4A teams in the bracket joining Choctaw and Fort Walton Beach, who will meet for a district final rematch in the regional quarterfinals.
Region 1-3A
(1) Pensacola Catholic* (23-4) vs. (8) Baldwin (19-5)
(4) Wolfson* (19-6) vs. (5) Bolles (14-10)
(2) Florida High* (22-3) vs. (7) Freeport (17-7)
(3) South Walton (19-7) vs. (6) Newberry (22-4)
Analysis: Catholic moved into the top spot in the region after Santa Fe moved into the Open Division. The Raiders were ranked No. 9 in the pre-district tournament FHSAA rankings. Three 3A teams qualified for the Open Division, with defending 3A state champion Calvary Christian (Region 3) and Gulliver Prep (Region 4) joining Santa Fe. The bottom side of the bracket has some familiar foes for the Crusaders as they won at Florida High in the Region 1-3A semifinals last year and just beat South Walton in this year’s District 1-3A final. Catholic is chasing back-to-back state semifinals, just like it did in 2014-15.
Rural Region 1
(1) Jay* (24-2) vs. (4) Chipley* (11-14)
(2) Baker (18-5) vs. 3 Laurel Hill (16-7)
Analysis: The road to the Rural Final Four will run through Jay as the Lady Royals chase their first ever state semifinal appearance. They start with a Rural Regional Final rematch against Chipley, who swept Jay last year on its way to a state runner-up finish. The two teams did not meet this season. Jay beat both Laurel Hill and Baker on its way to back-to-back district titles. Laurel Hill jumped Central in the most recent FHSAA rankings despite losing to the Jaguars twice in the regular season and being 51 spots behind them statewide in the Oct. 9 rankings.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 5 Pensacola area volleyball teams qualify for FHSAA playoffs
