Florida HS Volleyball Playoffs: Eight Pensacola-area teams qualify for regional tournament

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Regional volleyball is officially here.

After extending district tournaments until Saturday, the regional tournament seedings have been released by the Florida High School Athletic Association. District champions earn automatic berths into the postseason, while the next four-best teams based on the rankings also get into the regional tournament.

Brackets for regional tournaments were made available on MaxPreps on Saturday evening. Regional rankings were updated as well, later in the day.

For area teams, Gulf Breeze was the only team guaranteed a spot after winning its sixth consecutive district title, defeating Niceville, 3-1, on Thursday in the District 1-6A championship game.

Pace (6A), Navarre (6A), Pensacola (4A), West Florida (4A), Pensacola Catholic (3A) and Jay (Rural) all made the region tournaments as at-large bids.

Here are how the brackets shape up. The full regional rankings are listed below the four region brackets.

Region 1-6A

• 1. Gulf Breeze (1)* vs. 8. Fletcher (2)*
• 2. Oviedo (3)* vs. 7. Lake Howell (3)
• 3. Niceville (1) at 6. Lake Minneola (4)*
• 4. Navarre (1) vs. 5. Pace (1)

Dates: Quarterfinals: Oct. 23 | Semifinals: Oct. 26 | Finals: Oct. 30

Notes: District 1 runs the table right now, boasting two home games in the Region Quarterfinals. Gulf Breeze hosts District 2 champion Fletcher, based on being the higher seed. Oviedo (District 3) hosts Lake Howell for a district rivalry game in the quarterfinals. Niceville, despite being ranked third, has to go to Lake Minneola, District 4's champion, since the Eagles are an at-large team. Another district rivalry game, with Navarre and Pace, is also on tap in the quarterfinals.

Region 1-4A

• 1. South Walton (1)* vs. 8. Baker County (4)
• 2. Bishop Kenny (4)* vs. 7. Suwannee (2)*
• 3. Pensacola (1) vs. Fort Walton Beach (1)
• 4. West Florida (1) at 5. Yulee (3)*

Dates: Quarterfinals: Oct. 23 | Semifinals: Oct. 26 | Finals: Oct. 30

Notes: Four teams from District 1, again, are in the regional playoffs. South Walton and Pensacola will be the only hosts, however, with the former earning the District 1-4A title. Bishop Kenny, District 4's champion, hosts District 2 crown-holder Suwannee, and the latter loses the right to host as the lower seed. West Florida, despite being seeded higher, will have to hit the road at Yulee, since the Hornets are the District 3 champion and earned the right to host. Pensacola will host district rival Fort Walton Beach to kick things off.

Region 1-3A

• 1. North Bay Haven Academy (1)* vs. 8. Baldwin (3)
• 2. Pensacola Catholic (1) at 7. Fernandina Beach (3)*
• 3. Florida High (2)* vs. 6. Episcopal (4)
• 4. Bolles (4)* vs. 5. Wolfson (4)

Dates: Quarterfinals: Oct. 22 | Semifinals: Oct. 26 | Finals: Oct. 30

Notes: Region 1-3A gets a little crazy with certain teams winning district championships. Pensacola Catholic, ranked second in the region, has to travel to Fernandina Beach, which upset Baldwin in the District 3 championship game. Florida High (District 2) and Bolles (District 4) both won their district championships, and will host Episcopal and Wolfson. North Bay Haven hosts Baldwin as the District 1 champion.

Region 1-Rural

• 1. Chipley (2)* vs. 4. Cottondale (2)
• 2. Jay (1) at 3. Baker (2)*

Dates: Semifinals: Oct. 26 | Finals: Oct. 29

Notes: Jay and Baker will meet for the fourth time this season, with Baker hosting in the Region Semifinals after defeating Jay in the District 1 championship game. The Royals are still seeded higher, however. Baker currently leads the season series, 2-1. Chipley, the District 2 champion, hosts Cottondale to kick things off in the smaller bracket.

REGIONAL RANKINGS

Class 6A

• Gulf Breeze (36.157) – first in District 1-6A, first in Region 1-6A, first in Class 6A, third overall in state
• Navarre (26.162) – third in District 1-6A, fourth in Region 1-6A, fifth in Class 6A, 32nd overall in state
• Pace (25.159) – fourth in District 1-6A, fifth in Region 1-6A, sixth in Class 6A, 41st overall in state
• Tate (15.695) – fifth in District 1-6A, 13th in Region 1-6A, 19th in Class 6A, 120th overall in state
• Milton (-0.423) – seventh in District 1-6A, 25th in Region 1-6A, 63rd in Class 6A, 388th overall in state

Class 5A

• Booker T. Washington (13.859) – third in District 1-5A, 10th in Region 1-5A, 20th in Class 5A, 143rd overall in state
• Escambia (-3.452) – fifth in District 1-5A,16th in Region 1-5A, 59th in Class 5A, 445th overall in state
• Pine Forest (-12.663) – sixth in District 1-5A, 20th in Region 1-5A, 81st in Class 5A, 573rd overall in state

Class 4A

• Pensacola (11.800) – second in District 1-4A, third in Region 1-4A, 14th in Class 4A, 174th overall in state
• West Florida (9.658) – third in District 1-4A, fourth in Region 1-4A, 17th in Class 4A, 208th overall in state

Class 3A

• Pensacola Catholic (16.303) – second in District 1-3A, second in Region 1-3A, 19th in Class 3A, 112th overall in state

Class 1A

• LEAD Academy (-22.092) – sixth in District 1-1A, 22nd in Region 1-1A, 85th in Class 1A, 646th overall in state

Rural

• Jay (10.433) – first in District 1-Rural, second in Region 1-Rural, 6th in Rural overall, 191st overall in state
• Central (3.273) – third in District 1-Rural, fifth in Region 1-Rural, 13th in Rural overall, 316th overall in state
• Northview (-0.243) – fourth in District 1-Rural, sixth in Region 1-Rural, 16th in Rural overall, 384th overall in state

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida HS Volleyball Playoffs: Eight Pensacola-area teams qualify for regional tournament