Fort Myers beach volleyball beats Estero for Class 2A-Region 4 title

History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent.

And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting.

The Green Wave closed out the Wildcats in the Class 2A-Region 4 championship game, beating them for the second time this season in an identical 3-2 decision as the one 13 days ago.

“The fact that we are so tiny, our team is chugging along like a train,” Fort Myers coach Kelly Corr said. “They pull together, they do their part, they cheer when they have to, they play their hearts out, we try to touch every ball, we’re working in practice hard so that when we come to the game, they’re just seeing our skills.

“We still have some work to do each and every day just to get ready for state, but I’m proud of the fact that we’re hanging in there. We’re pushing through, and we’re fighting.”

Corr didn’t make any lineup changes relative to the last match against Estero, rolling with her best three pairs on the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 courts. After a dramatic three-set win in the district title game, Isabella Higby and Erin McDowell exploited the serve receive of Avery McCarthy and Jordyn Selander on the No. 5 court, cruising to a 21-13, 21-11 win.

It was a welcoming sign for Corr, who saw Higby and McDowell squander a 20-14 lead in the second set in the first meeting, losing 22-20 after McCarthy and Selander went on an 8-0 run.

“It was relieving,” Corr said. “It stresses me a little because sometimes they can get a little back and forth with it and give a little too much and get in their heads a little bit, but they pulled it together. They proved they deserve to be there. You could tell they wanted it more than anyone out here. The way they were looking and playing and communicating, their one mistake, they just let it fuel them to get the next point.”

Kasey Corr and Amber Englehart moved to 17-0 on the season with an easy 21-9, 21-5 win over Lilly Engle and Capri Phillipine, while Estero got a 21-17, 21-5 win on the No. 4 court from Katie Kuieck and Julia Martus. The No. 2 court saw the Wildcat tandem of Casey Kennedy and Kassia Perkins beat Briley Dodge and Addi Sprecher 21-14, 21-11.

The drama then shifted to the No. 1 court to close it, with a battle between Fort Myers’ Gabby Dwyer and Ashlee Tenkley and Brooke Smith and Delayna Kerry of Estero. Dwyer and Tenkley had their way through the duration of the district title match, but received a stingier fight on Tuesday, especially early.

Smith and Kerry fought hard, capitalized at the service line on misplays from the Fort Myers seniors, and nearly handed them their first set loss of the season. Level at 19-all, Dwyer and Tenkley ended things on a tip to the near side that went past Kerry’s outstretched arms.

“Of course you’re pulling for them at that point,” Estero caoch John Ban said. “I have so much faith in that team. They’re such great beach volleyball players, I thought we had every shot in the world to take them down in first set. That would’ve changed the whole momentum of the match.”

Smith and Kerry would fall behind early in the second, trailing 7-1. Dwyer and Tenkley would hold that mid-single digit lead the rest of the way, pulling away to win 21-12 with the regional trophy shortly in hand thereafter.

For Ban and the Wildcats, Martus and Kuieck are the lone seniors set to graduate from the program, giving them the foundation to be arguably the area’s top squad in 2026.

“The team was amazing this year,” Ban said. “We went 15-2 and lost to the same team twice. That’s the only team we lost to. The girls are a bunch of very good volleyball players and can play on the beach as well. Moving forward into the future, we’re just locked and loaded for next year.

“But the loss was definitely bittersweet. I’m happy for the Fort Myers kids that I coached in middle school at Saint Francis and the kids I’ve been able to coach in club over the years.”

The Green Wave will now head to Tallahassee to take on Gulf Breeze, the No. 2 seed in Region 1 who beat Chiles 3-2 with wins on the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 pairs.

Having Final Four experience on the roster this year will only help, as Kelly Corr coached Bishop Verot to Tallahassee a season ago. Kasey Corr and Higby were on the team that advanced last year, giving the team multiple voices to mentally prepare for the two-day stretch.

“We led with that at the beginning of the season,” Kelly Corr said. “These goals are attainable, they’re reachable, they are tough, but you can do it if you put your mind to it. That was literally one of our goals, was to get (to Tallahassee) for our seniors, for the experience of our underclassmen.

“To do that, and to be able to say you did it, very few teams get to do that. That’s always been one of the goals and one of the things we’ve talked about… They all know that experience, what it’s like, and they’ll be able to talk it up and hopefully that’ll fuel them to want to play even harder.”

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.