Gulf Breeze, Pace both in region tournament

Just 32 Class 2A beach volleyball teams remain active in the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs.

Santa Rosa County boasts two of those teams.

Both Pace and Gulf Breeze learned their opponents and locations in the Region 1-2A quarterfinals after the FHSAA had its selection show for the beach volleyball state tournament on April 25. The tournament begins on April 29.

With a full state tournament this season that includes a three regional rounds, the road to Tallahassee gets a little longer for beach volleyball teams this season. The semifinals are slated for May 2 followed by the finals on May 6.

All eyes go to Florida State University on May 9-10 for the state championships in Tallahassee after that.

Gulf Breeze now has its path to defend its state crown after the Dolphins defeated Berkeley Prep, 3-2, in their second season as a program to achieve the immaculate 22-0 season.

Here’s how the region bracket shapes up for both Gulf Breeze and Pace. The full regional rankings will be listed below the region playoff bracket once they’re updated by the FHSAA. Teams with an asterisk (*) are the host for the region quarterfinals.

FHSAA Region 1-2A bracket

• 1. Chiles (2)* vs. 8. Leon (2)
• 2. Gulf Breeze (1)* vs. 7. Crestview (1)
• 3. Bishop Kenny (3)* vs. 6. Middleburg (4)
• 4. Beachside (4)* vs. 5. Pace (1)

Notes: Things are pretty straightforward in Region 1-2A as all four district champions are in the top four teams, meaning they will all host the region quarterfinals. Gulf Breeze, with the No. 2 seed, will have a rematch of the District 1 championship game against Crestview in the quarterfinals. Pace, an at-large bid, heads to Beachside in St. Johns for the first round as the No. 5 seed. The region will run through Chiles as long as the Timberwolves keep winning.

FHSAA Beach Volleyball rankings

Class 2A

• Gulf Breeze (24.534) – first in District 1-2A, second in Region 1-2A, second in Class 2A, fourth overall in state
• Pace (12.364) – second in District 1-2A, fifth in region 1-2A, 18th in Class 2A, 47th overall in state