After months of preparation, and then months of games, the postseason for high school volleyball is officially here.
Ten Gainesville-area teams earned bids to compete for a spot in Winter Haven, where the state championships will be held. Five come from the Rural class, and the other five reside in Alachua County. The bigger classes see a return to prominence for area powerhouses Santa Fe and Gainesville High. The Raiders and Hurricanes each earned a No. 2 seed in their regions. A new team joined the fold this season, though: Buchholz.
The Bobcats had their best season in years, and enter the postseason as the area’s top-ranked team and a No. 3 seed in the highly-competitive Class 6A-Region 1.
In Rural, Branford is the favorite once again, and Lafayette and Union County will look to stun the world. In Region 4, Williston is the top seed and looking to get to Winter Haven and make some magic.
The quarterfinals for Classes 1A-3A is Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 22 for 4A-7A. The semifinals for all classes is Saturday, October 25. The Rural final is Tuesday, October 28. Class 4A-7A is Wednesday, October 29. The state semifinals and finals are November 3-8 at Polk State College – Winter Haven Health Center.
FHSAA volleyball first-round results from the Gainesville-area
Tuesday, October 21
No. 2 Trinity Catholic 3, No. 7 Oak Hall 0 – Class 2A-Region 1 quarterfinals
No. 3 McKeel Academy 3, No. 6 Newberry 0 – Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinals
FHSAA volleyball first-round schedule from the Gainesville area
Wednesday, October 22
No. 7 Jensen Beach at No. 2 Gainesville High – 6 p.m.; Class 5A-Region 2 quarterfinals
No. 7 Titusville at No. 2 Santa Fe – 7 p.m.; Class 4A-Region 2 quarterfinals
No. 6 Winter Park-Lake Howell at No. 3 Buchholz – 7 p.m.; Class 6A-Region 1 quarterfinals
Saturday, October 25
No. 3 Union County at No. 2 Lafayette – 1 p.m.; Rural Class-Region 3 semifinals
No. 4 Trenton at No. 1 Williston – 2 p.m.; Rural Class-Region 4 semifinals
No. 4 Aucilla Christian at No. 1 Branford – 2 p.m.; Rural Class-Region 3 semifinals
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Where are Gainesville-area volleyball teams playing? FHSAA postseason tracker here
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
