The last time the Gainesville volleyball team won a state championship, current GHS coach Jerica Carter-Mitchell was on it.
Now, 21 years later, she is taking a team with her two daughters to the final four as GHS punched its ticket for the first time since 2011.
“I knew we had a good squad going into the season, and we know that last year it didn’t end the way that we wanted to, especially the seniors and even our freshmen that were starting last year, they really felt that, and really, really wanted to get that back this year, and they did,” said Jerica Carter-Mitchell.
On Wednesday night at The Purple Palace, in front of an energized crowd, the No. 2 seed Hurricanes swept No. 4 seed Legacy (Port St. Lucie), 25-5, 25-20, 25-20 in the FHSAA Class 5A-Region 2 Final.
“This whole week, this whole season, we’ve been building up to it,” said senior Rowan Kage. “We’ve been talking every practice about getting better, growing as a team. Our team chemistry is off the chart this year, like we all just love to be around each other. It’s just so fun to play with them and I’m so excited that we get to keep going.”
The Hurricanes (20-8) stormed out to a big lead in the opening set, thanks to an 11-0 run.
Junior Jordyn Barnard served a pair of aces and sophomore Jacey Carter-Mitchell had consecutive blocks, forcing Legacy to call a timeout down 9-2.
“We just really executed our plan tonight, and that’s really what has happened every time so far in the playoffs,” Jerica Carter-Mitchell said. “We scouted, we made the adjustments in practice, and then they are executing on the court so we couldn’t ask anything more. They played with lots of confidence tonight.”
It was the first of two runs in the opening set.
Jacey Carter-Mitchell added a pair of kills and an ace by Kage led to a second Legacy timeout following an 18-4 advantage.
The 7-0 run extended the lead to 21-4, and junior Whitney Kinsell added three service points for a 25-5 victory and a quick 1-0 lead.
The visiting Lions (23-8) took a 14-10 lead in the second set, but the ‘Canes answered with a 4-0 run. They took their first lead since 3-1 on a powerful kill by Kage that went off the face of a Legacy player for a 16-15 lead.
Although the game would be tied again at 17 apiece on a kill by Lions’ junior Sophia Spychalla, a kill by junior Kenzie Carter-Mitchell put GHS in front 18-17 and they never trailed again.
Legacy led 17-16 in the third set, but following a GHS timeout, sophomore Jorryn Dye added a block, junior Jordyn Barnard had a kill, and Dye finished off a 3-0 run with a kill to give the Hurricanes a 19-17 lead.
Legacy called a timeout, but the Lions never evened the score, and Kenzie Carter-Mitchell’s final kill of the night gave GHS a 25-20 win and a sweep to win the regional title.
“It feels incredible,” said senior libero/defensive specialist Addy Hauptman. “This team has so much talent, and we kind of started off a little iffy at the beginning of the year, and I think we just really got ourselves together. And that’s so important to me because me and Rowan have been on varsity since freshman year together, and this has been our goal all along, and to finally experience that senior year is incredible.”
Hauptman finished with 22 digs and reached a milestone with her 1,000th career dig.
“That is a big accomplishment for her,” Jerica Carter-Mitchell said. “We’ve been wanting it. We’ve been counting it down, and she’s actually close to 2,000 serve/receive receptions as well… she’s key for us back there. She’s the leader of our defense. She’s done awesome.”
GHS will likely be the No. 3 seed and face No. 2 seed Archbishop McCarty (Fort Lauderdale) in the Class 5A state semifinals next Friday, Nov. 7, at Polk State College in Winter Haven (time TBA).
“I am really happy that they reseed because based on the bracket, it looked like we were going to play (5A overall No. 1) Chiles (Tallahassee), so when they reseed it looks like we’re going to be on the other side of the bracket, and we don’t have to see them until the finals,” Jerica Carter-Mitchell said. “We’ve been set up the whole way really well. I mean, the fact that we’re able to host and higher seeds got knocked out, so it’s really set us up well, and they’re setting us up well one more time for the final four, so I’m hoping we can go as far as possible within the next two matches.”
2025 FHSAA Volleyball Regional Finals
Area teams in bold
Wednesday, Oct. 29
Class 4A-Region 2
1 Merritt Island 3, 2 Santa Fe (Alachua) 0 – 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 (Raiders finish the season at 20-10)
Class 5A-Region 2
2 Gainesville 3, 4 Legacy (Port St. Lucie) 0 – 25-5, 25-20, 25-20
