Sports
No. 17 Winter Haven beach volleyball wins regional quarterfinal game over George Jenkins
WINTER HAVEN — It was evident that the Winter Haven beach volleyball’s No. 1 line was challenged by the No. 1 line of George Jenkins. That isn’t surprising, though, as like Winter Haven (17-0), George Jenkins (7-6) has been a winning program all season. And both teams met in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals Tuesday […]
WINTER HAVEN — It was evident that the Winter Haven beach volleyball’s No. 1 line was challenged by the No. 1 line of George Jenkins.
That isn’t surprising, though, as like Winter Haven (17-0), George Jenkins (7-6) has been a winning program all season. And both teams met in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals Tuesday at Winter Haven High School.
Both No. 1 lines battled it out, but in the end, No. 1 seed Winter Haven prevailed 2-0 behind the efforts of senior player Rylee Tanner and junior Kylie Catrett, which helped catapult a 4-1 win over George Jenkins ― the No. 8 seed in regionals.
“(I’m) incredibly proud. It’s all really about that five-game mentality of playing the best that you can for five matches, and you win the state title. Today was game one of the five-game goal, so one step closer is exactly what it’s all about. One game at a time. And we’re just one step closer, which is where we want to be, so it feels amazing. I’m so proud of the girls for staying locked in and staying focused and finishing our last match against a Polk County opponent for the season,” Winter Haven head beach volleyball coach Dylan Sechrest said after the game.
While essentially the entire team was consistent on Tuesday, Sechrest said the No. 4 line should be able to tighten things ahead of the regional semifinals later this week.
“We got to get the 4 line moving a little bit. Got to get to get them playing a little bit better ball (and) a little bit more competitive, and really going forward,” Sechrest said. “We weren’t really happy with how we played.”
Still, the No. 2 (Sophia Whitaker and Kindyl Goff), 3 (Emily Drier, Addison Traina) and 5 lines (Camila DeJesus and Leah Robles) won like they’ve done all year, and their record is the same as the team’s: 17-0.
“That’s exactly what we were looking for. It’s really nice having those teams play solid. Can’t say a big enough shoutout to the 2, 3 and 5 lines. Can’t say enough good things about those three seedings and how solid and consistent they’ve been for our program in helping us to win,” he said.
Yes, the district champions are playing great. But Sechrest said he wants everyone to work on those deep corner shots heading into the regional semifinals, as they are by far the hardest shots. And they are the hardest shots because teams are usually occupying the middle, of course.
Winter Haven, the No. 17 team in Florida, will be gearing up to play Riverview Sarasota (11-3) in the semifinals 4 pm Friday at Winter Haven High School.