Niceville volleyball continues to look like a Class 5A contender early in the season.
The Lady Eagles swept Pace 3-0 in their home opener on Wednesday night, winning 25-19, 25-19 and 25-22 to improve to 4-2 on the year.
“We had a goal. What happened last year wasn’t going to happen again, and we came out hot,” head coach Karson Jessup said.
In the first set, Niceville opened on an 8-1 run before Pace narrowed the deficit back to a manageable margin. The Lady Eagles got it together down the stretch, highlighted by a Kate Jannazo ace to push the lead to six, followed by a Claire Ivey kill to finish off the Lady Patriots 25-19.
The second set started tight before the Lady Eagles opened up a 6-0 run with Jannazo and Carnley Summerlin taking over.
“She did what she always does. She was steady, she passed well, she hit well, she hit the plays she needed to make,” Jessup said.
- “We didn’t have momentum, but we brought it back up, thanks to Carnley with her serves,” Jannazo added.
The Lady Patriots scored two more, but another Niceville run followed, this time 5-0, highlighted by a highlight-reel block from Katherine Newkirk. Pace sparked a 4-0 run of its own with Audree Lowe setting the floor, but Ivey managed a block to stop the bleeding.
“Claire came out hot tonight and I was really happy to see that,” Jessup said.
“It being our first home game, with the energy, it always felt like we were there at the right time,” Ivey added.
Pace then scored twice on Niceville hits out of bounds, but once again, Newkirk continued to make the right plays at the right time, culminating in an Anna Sutter kill that gave the Lady Eagles the set-clinching point.
“Kat Newkirk’s always been a big player. She makes big plays at the right time, so really proud of her for that,” Jessup said.
- “Claire had amazing kills, and so did Kat. They got kills when they needed to get them,” Jannazo added.
The third set proved to be the tightest of the match. Despite Niceville going up early on a run highlighted by a key Jannazo block, Pace tied it up with an Allie Morgan kill and a block from Leah Pearce.
The back-and-forth continued for the entire set, with Niceville and Pace alternating kills, neither gaining a consistent lead. Eventually, Niceville pulled ahead, and a Jannazo kill plus an ace from Summerlin sealed the sweep.
Niceville (4-2) will travel to Foley this weekend for a Labor Day tournament, starting with Blountstown on Friday.
Pace (2-4) will also travel to Foley for a Labor Day tournament, starting with Bayside Academy (Alabama) on Friday.
