On three successive nights, the Gulf Breeze Dolphins experienced a tough, five-set loss to Pensacola Catholic, turned around to sweep the Fort Walton Beach Vikings in three, and Thursday night dispatched South Walton in four sets.
Story by Near Post Sports
The Dolphins, now 20-4 for 2021, ran hard but faltered Tuesday against the Crusaders. Two of the five sets needed extra points to decide the victor: 31-29, 19-25, 29-27, 12-25, and 13-15. Catholic is ranked #7 in the entire state and #3 in Florida’s 3A classification.
The game’s leading attacker was Catholic’s Amiah Butler with 27 kills – nearly half the team’s total on the night — and she was responsible for nine blocks. Claire Jimenez knocked down 14 kills. And as a team, the winning squad served up seven aces.
“In reality, it could have gone either way, because they (Gulf Breeze) play really well,” Crusaders’ head coach Giulio Simonelli said. “The strategy was to slow down Lauren (Kellen). We’re not going to stop her, but try to slow her down, and minimize the output from the outside. And it worked.”
Hotly contested all the way through the final stanza, Butler set up the game winning point with a dink hitting the floor. But middle hitter Amber Yates is credited with the game-winning stuff-block on Camryn Brooks’ spike.
“I just knew if we ended it with that (block), it would be a great ender. I saw her going up, and I lined it up perfectly, curved my hands, and it was such a good feeling,” Yates said.
Leading the way for Gulf Breeze, Camryn Brooks and Bella Satterwhite notched 14 kills each. Kellen had a baker’s dozen.
“We were ready. We were aggressive, but it came down to point-for-point,” Dolphins’ senior Hannah O’Grady said. “We were in that. We’re two very evenly matched teams, and I think we played great.”
Dolphin head coach Jasmine King says her team in rolling at near-peak performance at this juncture.
“On paper, obviously, it’s a loss. We fought to the end,” King said. “It’s always a battle with them. We were very self-less and fought for each other.”
Against the Vikings, Gulf Breeze’s attack was relentless. They won 25-15, 25-14, 25-14.
“They have a tendency to start very strong and then continue pressing the gas,” said Gil Sierra, Fort Walton Beach’s head coach. “In the third set, we had to do a little management on the players. We (changed) liberos, and we switched pin hitters. They gave us a bit of a spark, and we got a better block on the right side. And we started going.”
The Vikings drew even at 10 before momentum switched back to the Dolphins, and they closed out the match.
South Walton tested the Dolphins, losing the four-set match by a total of eight points. Gulf Breeze prevailed 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, and 25-22.
Sitting at #6 in the 6A classification rankings, the Dolphins are poised for a top seed in their district tournament.
“I think we’re playing our best volleyball. The team is gelling together, being very, very smart and disciplined on the little things,” King said.
Only one game remains on the Dolphins’ schedule, the rivalry match with Navarre. That’s slated for Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the Raiders’ gym with first serve at 6:30. After that, it’s off to the 1-6A district tournament.
All photos © 2021 by Stu Camp can be purchased in high resolution at https://stuartcamp.smugmug.com/
All photos © 2021 by Stu Camp can be purchased in high resolution at https://stuartcamp.smugmug.com/
