High school volleyball: Jensen Beach blitzes John Carroll, claims fifth-straight district title

( This story was updated to add new information and to change or add a photo or video. . )

JENSEN BEACH — New coach, new starters, but the Jensen Beach volleyball team enjoyed a familiar sight on its home court.

The Falcons captured their 16th district title in 21 years, but it’s their first without longtime Mike Sawtelle leading the way. Sawtelle retired following the 2023 campaign after guiding the program through 20 seasons to astronomic heights on the Treasure Coast.

Instead, it was first-year head coach Whitney Bailey who strolled the Jensen Beach sideline on Thursday as the team captured a three-set sweep over John Carroll Catholic in the District 8-5A championship match from Jensen Beach High School.

Set scores were 25-11, 25-14, 25-17.

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“It feels wonderful. It’s been a team effort all the way through,” Bailey said. “They do an incredible job of coming together, they’ve grown so much this season. So winning districts is just the highlight of all the hard work that each one of them has put in all season.”

Jensen Beach entered the district tournament as the No. 2 seed while the Rams were seeded fourth. It is the Falcons’ fifth district crown in a row, the last four of which have come with Catherine Hamilton as a key contributor. The senior outside hitter has emerged as a team leader as she capped her prep career with a perfect district mark.

“It’s amazing to finish it out,” said Hamilton, who is verbally committed to North Florida. “It’s my last year, so I’m just playing every match with all of my heart and I’m having a lot of fun.”

Hamilton and junior hitter Samaya Hennessey each netted 11 kills while senior middle hitter Sophia Martin added four total blocks to pace a Jensen Beach side that steamrolled through the first two sets. The home team produced 8-0 and 12-0 surges in the opening stanza before scoring the first six points in the next frame, as well as stringing together another 8-0 run.

The Rams showed fight by climbing out of an early hole in the third set. A kill from junior middle hitter Halle Delince kick-started a 5-0 push to tie it at 10-10. The stanza stood 17-16 in favor of the Falcons before back-to-back Hamilton kills ignited a 7-0 run to effectively put the win away.

Jensen Beach will now host a Region 2-5A quarterfinal on Wednesday. The Falcons entered district as the fourth-ranked team in the region. Meanwhile, John Carroll likely secured an at-large spot after starting the tournament ranked seventh.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday's District 8-5A Final.

'They just served us off the court'

How did the drive for five come together?

If you ask Rams head coach Bianca Maikranz, Jensen Beach went on surge after surge due in part to its work on the service line.

Hamilton and Hennessey were effective laying down big swings at the net while Martin and senior hitter Aubrie Ross turned back multiple attacks. But the hosts extended its cushion by piling up points with serves, either exploiting holes on the John Carroll backline or serving short. At best, the visitors struggled to stay in system to mount a threatening offense, a far cry from their fast-pace approach that carried them to an upset over top-seed Okeechobee 24 hours earlier.

"Their serving was really strong," Maikranz said of the Falcons. "Every time we made an adjustment on serve receive, they were right there to serve it to another spot. They were aggressive the whole time, and when they're serving aggressively and we can't get our passing under control, it's hard to get an offense.

"They just served us off the court."

Jensen Beach totaled 13 aces, with Hennessey responsible for seven of them. The team finished with 36 service points.

'Proud of this runner-up'

John Carroll Catholic didn't leaving the Falcons' nest with the trophy it wanted, as it still waits to claim its first district title since 2015. But the program has far exceeded expectations this season and should end its nine-year playoff drought when the regional brackets are announced.

Following a dismal four-win campaign a year ago, the Rams boast a 10-5 record this season.

"We went into the season knowing we had the pieces to have a district finals team. Our goal all summer and throughout the summer was that we really wanted to make it to the district finals," Maikranz said. "Nobody expected us to go this far, so we really didn't have any pressure. We've been the underdogs all season and I think we've handled it well."

The team's most important victories came against Okeechobee. After collecting a four-set home victory on Aug. 27, John Carroll rallied from down 2-1 on Wednesday to beat the Brahmans in five sets on their home floor. Maikranz credited the seniors for the comeback. However, its been others than have been the engine to this run.

Delince, who possesses tremendous power and leaping ability, is among the area leaders in blocks. Elsewhere, fellow junior Kaylee Maikranz lead the team in aces and digs while junior setter Nadia Petit has surpassed 300 assists.

"We're really proud of this runner-up because we haven't been here in a long time," Bianca Maikranz said. "We're really proud where we ended up. Obviously, we really wanted the win, but it happens and Jensen played amazing."

Locked in

To start her head-coaching tenure, Bailey brought on a mental health coach to aid players in setting their goals and intentions for the season. The purpose also had a short-term focus as she wanted players to plan out, write out and/or visualize how moments would materialize on the court, whether its for a game or a practice.

That task this week was a bit of a chore as the school is celebrating its homecoming, but the team stayed on course to add some more hardware to its already packed trophy case.

"There's a lot of distractions right now with homecoming and everything, but coach made sure to keep us engaged during our practices," Hamilton said.

Of course, the standard at Jensen Beach isn't just to add district trophies. The run towards a sixth state title - and a first in Class 5A - in school history gets underway next week, with the Falcons seeking their third consecutive appearance in the Final Four.

"We see what the product is now, because when we first started three months ago, it wasn't that great," Bailey said. "But we're seeing that hard work build. And we're hoping that continues on, hopefully to a state championship."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: High school volleyball: Jensen Beach blitzes John Carroll, claims fifth-straight district title