Niceville falls to Leon in emotional five-setter

By JARED MACARIN

jaredm@nwfdailynews.com

NICEVILLE — The matchup was two state-ranked teams that had battled numerous times over the past two seasons.

The result was the same, although it was closer than it ever had been before.

No. 8 Leon outlasted No. 9 Niceville in five games on Tuesday in the Class 5A regional semifinals in an epic battle.

The Lions (26-4), who had knocked Niceville out in the regional quarterfinals last year, won the first two games 25-12 and 25-20. The Eagles, who hadn’t been to the semifinals since 2002, then won the next two sets 25-18, 25-23 to send the match into a fifth game. There, the Lions had just a little more as they pulled out an 18-16 win to advance to the regional finals.

“They gave it everything they’ve got,” Niceville coach Kris Hagberg said. “I can’t ask for anything more than the effort they gave.”

The loss ends the season for the Eagles at 26-4. Leon moves on and will host Gainesville Eastside on Saturday. Eastside defeated Leesburg in three games on Tuesday.

There were standouts on both sides of the court. For the Lions, the duo of Alex Johnson and Kelsey Aley continually kept the pressure on the host Eagles all night with their play at the net. On the other side, Jennica Hagberg and a bevy of hitters fought back with their backs against the wall all evening.

Johnson finished with a game-high 20 kills, while Aley added 14.

Jennica Hagberg had 60 assists for the Eagles, and four players had double-digit kills. Ijanae Holman and Rachael Farrell each had 16 kills, while Cat Houston had 15 and Katie Weeks had 11.

The Lions (27-3) stormed out of the gate in the opening game, taking the lead from the first point and really never looking back. The second set was closer, but once again Leon held its early advantage throughout en route to putting itself on the verge of a sweep.

Niceville fought back to claw itself into a tie. The Eagles, just as the Lions had done in the first two games, grabbed control midway through and held on in both games to send it into a fifth-set tiebreaker.

There, both teams traded points throughout, with the largest lead never more than two points for either team.

“Our girls have to hold their heads up high after this match,” Kris Hagerg said. “They had a great season.”

Leon 3, Niceville 2

Scores: 25-12, 25-20, 18-25, 23-25, 18-16

Niceville (26-4): Jennica Hagberg 2 aces, 60 assists, 5 kills, 30 digs, 2 blocks; Cat Houston 15 kills, 4 digs, 1 block; Ijanae Holman 4 aces, 16 kills, 5 digs; Taylor Tiahrt 1 ace, 4 kills, 22 digs; Katie Weeks 11 kills, 4 blocks; Rachael Farrell 16 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks; Jenna Hassell 1 ace, 1 assist, 30 digs; Amber Jenkins 10 digs; Lauren Foy 9 digs; Jaclyn Mailoto 2 aces, 2 kills, 5 digs.