Niceville claims District 1-5A title over Fort Walton Beach
By JARED MACARIN
jaredm@nwfdailynews.com
FORT WALTON BEACH — This was the match Niceville wanted.
And this time, the Eagles got it done.
Facing Fort Walton Beach in the District 1-5A title game for the third straight year, the Eagles downed their rivals in four games to claim the championship for the first time since 2004.
Fort Walton Beach had beaten Niceville for the title each of the past two seasons.
“It’s so amazing,” Eagles’ hitter Ijanae Holman said. “We’ve wanted this for so long. We played as a team and won it together. I’m so excited.”
The Eagles (25-3) will host District 2 runner-up Tallahassee Lincoln (17-7) on Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Fort Walton Beach (20-7) must travel to District 1 champion Tallahassee Leon (24-3) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Leon beat Lincoln 3-0 in the District 2 title game on Thursday.
Niceville lost in the regional quarterfinals to Leon last season, while the Vikings advanced to the regional finals before also falling to Leon.
Niceville had won both of the regular-season matchups in three games, but had to work a little harder in this one. After taking the first set 25-16, the Vikings came back to even the match with a 25-19 victory. The Eagles then turned it around and won the final two games by the identical score of 25-19 to clinch the title.
“It was a very big win for us,” Niceville coach Kris Hagberg said. “This is always a great rivalry and we knew it would be a tough game. I’m just really proud of the girls. They started working on winning districts a year ago. It was a total team effort.”
Throughout the match, the Eagles found big shots when they needed them, and the crucial points came from everywhere.
Senior setter Jennica Hagberg had 43 assists, while Holman had a game-high 13 kills. Katie Weeks added 10 kills and six blocks, while Rachael Farrell had nine kills, Cat Houston had eight kills and Taylor Tiahrt contributed seven kills.
“We are much more focused this year,” Holman said. “We knew what we had to do and we went out and did it.”
Fort Walton Beach played from behind most of the night, and aside from the second game was not able to overcome the early deficits. Brooke Troop finished with a team-high 11 kills, while Jessica Guidry added 10. Emily Lyerly had 31 assists and four blocks, while Jessica Davis had five kills and two blocks and Emily Guidry contributed six kills.
“We made more mental mistakes and Niceville capitalized on the free ball opportunities they got,” Fort Walton Beach coach John Key said. “Our girls played hard, had fun and played with intensity. I think they are finally realizing what it takes and that they need to play like that all the time.”
Kris Hagberg thinks the game will be beneficial for both schools in the upcoming weeks.
“Fort Walton Beach is a very tough team,” she said, “and I think this helped both teams prepare for regionals.”
Niceville 3, Fort Walton Beach 1
Scores: 25-16, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19
Niceville (25-3): Jennica Hagberg 43 assists, 3 blocks, 4 kills, 2 aces; Ijanae Holman 13 kills, 1 block, 1 dig; Katie Weeks 10 kills, 6 blocks; Rachael Farrell 9 kills, 4 blocks; Cat Houston 8 kills, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 2 digs; Taylor Tiahrt 7 kills, 7 digs, 1 ace; Jenna Hassell 1 ace, 1 kill, 10 digs, Lauren Foy 1 ace, 4 digs, 2 kills, 1 assist; Amber Jenkins 5 digs.
FWB (20-7): Jessica Guidry 5 aces, 10 kills, 5 digs; Jessica Davis 3 aces, 5 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks; Katrina Slater 2 aces, 4 digs; Brook Troop 11 kills, 1 dig, 1 block; Emily Guidry 6 kills, 6 digs, 1 block; Melissa Smith 2 kills, 2 blocks; Emily Lyerly 31 assists, 4 digs, 4 blocks; Alex Conner 5 digs; Savannah Bruner 2 digs.
Next: Niceville: Tuesday vs. Tallahassee Lincoln. FWB: Tuesday at Tallahassee Leon.
