- Branford volleyball team defeated Dixie County 25-9, 25-13, 25-18 to win the Rural-District 6 Quarterfinals on Monday night.
- Bronson's Evie Meeks leads the state with 489 kills, while Branford's Anabella Dicks is second with 485 before their district semifinal match.
On Monday night, the defending FHSAA Rural state champion Branford volleyball team made quick work of No. 8 seed Dixie County (Cross City) with a 25-9, 25-13, 25-18 victory in the Rural-District 6 Quarterfinals.
“We did what we needed to do last night,” said first-year Branford coach Hank Rone. “We played faster and attacked the ball well. We are excited to win that first one.”
The top seed Buccaneers (24-2) will host one of the area’s biggest surprises this season.
Bronson (20-6), which is the No. 4 seed, won its 20th game of the year, 25-16, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-8, against No. 5 seed Fort White (11-15).
It will pit two of the top players in the state in kills.
Bronson senior Evie Meeks had 23 kills against the Indians to give her 489, moving her to No. 1 in the state ahead of Abi Chin Lee (472) of Class 5A Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee), which plays its district quarterfinal tonight against Olympic Heights (Boca Raton).
Branford senior Anabella Dicks had 16 kills “unofficially,” according to Rone, which would put her at 485 and in second place.
“Tonight we get a 20-win, much improved Bronson team, with one of the area’s top players in Evie Meeks,” Rone said. “You won’t stop her, but we need to put up some good blocks on her to try and slow her down. We need to serve and serve-receive well to have the outcome we want. Bronson will be a challenge, and it should be a good contest.”
Branford defeated Bronson in both meetings this year (3-1 on Sept. 1 and 3-0 at Branford on Sept. 15).
Mia Rivers, who is fourth with 457 kills, had 13 kills last night to lead No. 4 seed Keystone Heights (17-9) past No. 5 seed Bradford (Starke) 25-12, 25-22, 25-19 in the Class 3A-District 4 Quarterfinals.
Keystone will play at top seed Santa Fe (Alachua), which is 21-3 and has won eight in a row, in tonight’s district semifinals. This is the first meeting this season between the Indians and the Raiders.
2026 FHSAA volleyball district tournaments
Times are subject to change
Area teams in bold
Rural-District 6 – at Higher Seed
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
1 Branford d. 8 Dixie County (Cross City) 25-9, 25-13, 25-18
4 Bronson d. 5 Fort White 25-16, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-8
3 Union County (Lake Butler) d. 6 Bell 25-18, 25-20, 25-17
2 Trenton d. 7 Chiefland 25-21, 25-15, 25-16
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Semifinals)
4 Bronson at 1 Branford, 6:30 p.m.
3 Union County (Lake Butler) at 2 Trenton, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 6:30 p.m.
Rural-District 7 – at Higher seed
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
4 Cedar Key d. 5 Hawthorne 25-17, 25-9, 25-21
6 Wildwood at 3 Taylor (Pierson), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 14 (Semifinals)
4 Cedar Key at 1 Williston, 7 p.m.
Taylor/Wildwood winner at 2 Crescent City, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 16 (Championship)
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 1A-District 4 – Semifinals & Championship at Saint Francis Catholic Academy
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Quarterfinals)
5 Florida School for the Deaf & Blind (St. Augustine) at 4 Peniel Baptist Academy (Palatka), 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 14 (Semifinals)
Florida Deaf/Peniel Baptist winner at 1 Saint Francis Catholic Academy, 5 p.m.
2 Countryside Christian vs. 3 First Baptist (Palm Coast), 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 16 (Championship)
TBD, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 3 – at Higher Seed
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Quarterfinals)
5 Mount Dora Christian Academy at 4 St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine), 7 p.m.
6 Interlachen at 3 P.K. Yonge, 7 p.m.
7 Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) at 2 Oak Hall School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 14 (Semifinals)
MDCA/St. Joseph winner at 1 Trinity Catholic (Ocala), 7 p.m.
Interlachen/P.K. Yonge winner vs. Father Lopez/Oak Hall winner, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 4 – at Higher seed
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
4 Keystone Heights d. 5 Bradford (Starke) 25-12, 25-22, 25-19
6 Palatka d. 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 25-27, 25-15, 30-32, 25-18, 15-12
2 Newberry d. 7 Eastside 20-11, 27-25, 25-21
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Semifinals)
4 Keystone Heights at 1 Santa Fe (Alachua), 7 p.m.
6 Palatka at 2 Newberry, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 4A-District 3 – Semifinals/Championship at Stanton (Jacksonville)
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
4 Ed White (Jacksonville) d. 5 Paxon (Jacksonville) 16-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-21
3 Stanton (Jacksonville) d. 6 Riverside (Jacksonville) 25-9, 25-7, 25-16
2 Columbia (Lake City) d. 7 Ribault (Jacksonville) 25-8, 25-5, 25-11
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Semifinals)
1 Yulee vs. 4 Ed White (Jacksonville), 7 p.m.
2 Columbia (Lake City) at 3 Stanton (Jacksonville), 5 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 6 p.m.
Class 5A-District 3 – Semifinals/Championship at Oakleaf (Orange Park)
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
4 Oakleaf (Orange Park) d. 5 Ridgeview (Orange Park) 25-13, 25-19, 25-15
3 Clay (Green Cove Springs) d. 6 Orange Park 26-28, 25-22, 25-15, 25-16
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Semifinals)
2 Gainesville vs. 3 Clay (Green Cove Springs), 6 p.m.
1 Middleburg vs. 4 Oakleaf (Orange Park), 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 6:30 p.m.
Class 6A-District 3 – Semifinals & Championship at Spruce Creek (Port Orange)
Monday, Oct. 12 (Quarterfinals)
2 Buchholz d. 7 Mainland (Daytona Beach) 25-9, 25-12, 25-10
5 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) d. 4 Flagler Palm Coast 23-25, 21-25, 28-8, 25-18, 15-9
3 Forest (Ocala) d. 6 West Port (Ocala) 25-14, 25-12, 25-13
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (Semifinals)
1 DeLand at 5 Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 7 p.m.
2 Buchholz vs. 3 Forest (Ocala), 5 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15 (Championship)
TBD, 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include corrected semifinal times for Class 1A-District 4