Niceville picked up its most impressive win of the season Tuesday night, sweeping South Walton 25-16, 25-14, 25-16 at home after the Seahawks swept the Lady Eagles at South Walton on Aug. 20.
“We played well. I know South Walton is not at its healthiest moment right now,” head coach Karson Jessup said. “We needed to find a groove, and I think we did that tonight.”
The first set began with both teams trading errors before a Claire Ivey kill sparked a Niceville run. A block from South Walton’s Corinne O’Connell briefly stopped the bleeding, but Anna Sutter answered with a kill of her own. A Sydney Downing kill then ignited a 6-1 Seahawks run before Niceville responded with a surge of its own. Katherine Newkirk notched multiple kills, Riley Skowronski added a block and Kate Jannazo followed with a kill.
Ava Hummel had a block to stem the tide for South Walton, sparking a 3-0 run, but multiple Seahawk hits sailed out of bounds and Niceville took the set 25-16.
The second set opened tight before Jannazo took control, collecting several kills during a Lady Eagles rally.
- “She is getting to the point where she’s comfortable and doing all the things she needs to do, and it’s really awesome to see,” Jessup said.
“We really pushed through the second set. We kept going on a run,” Jannazo added.
The only answer the Seahawks had during that stretch was a kill from O’Connell. The rally eventually ended after Downing got a kill following three straight Niceville points. O’Connell had a kill of her own, though Newkirk responded.
“Kat is a powerhouse, and she’s continuing to progress, and it’s really awesome to see,” Jessup said.
- “It was a great game all the way through, so I’m happy my coaches and teammates were able to support me all the way through,” Newkirk added.
The teams traded runs before a Jannazo kill sparked a 4-1 Niceville run to close it out, capped by a Carnley Summerlin kill to give the Lady Eagles the set 25-14.
The third set again opened with both teams trading points before Sutter took over. She had three straight points on two kills and a block, and Ivey added a kill before Downing stopped the bleeding with one of her own.
“Anna is heating up. She is starting to buy into the process and really showing through right now,” Jessup said.
“Carnley was getting really good sets, and the outsides were pulling the blocks really well,” Sutter added.
A series of South Walton errors then fueled a 5-1 Lady Eagles run. Both teams traded points from there, but Sutter and Jannazo took over with multiple kills as the Seahawks couldn’t keep up, and Niceville won the set 25-16 to complete the sweep.
Niceville (12-3) travels to Gulf Breeze on Thursday.
South Walton (9-4) plays Bainbridge, Georgia, on Saturday.
