Jensen Beach rebounds from two years ago, wins Class 5A state championship over Naples Barron Collier

WINTER HAVEN, Fla.– Raegan Richardson admitted that the state-finals stage overwhelmed Jensen Beach two years ago. 

Richardson and senior outside hitter Lindsay Walch dominated the stage Saturday, propelling the Falcons past second-time state finalist Naples Barron Collier 25-17, 25-15, 25-22 to win the FHSAA Class 5A state volleyball title.

Richardson, a junior setter, set 35 assists. She also burned the Cougars for three aces to help the Falcons (29-2, No. 1 FHSAA Class 5A rankings) win their fifth title.

Jensen Beach also won the 2007 4A, 2009 4A, 2012 5A and 2015 Class 6A titles.

“I thought we picked a great day to have a great day,” Jensen Beach coach Mike Sawtelle said. “We played the game about as good as we could have. We stuck with the game plan. Barron Collier’s a great team. They’ve got hitters everywhere. Our plan was to not allow them to set up their big hitters, their big guns. It worked to perfection.

“It worked with serve. We tried to serve away from their strengths. Our serving game was on today. We’ve struggled with that. But our serve was on. Our hitters were hitting their zones, and the defense was amazing. Raegan being our setter does an amazing job getting the ball to our hitters.”

Richardson admitted that when she led the Falcons into a state-final battle of unbeatens in 2020, the 5,000-seat Suncoast Credit Union Arena 2020 state final, the size of the arena overwhelmed her. The Falcons lost that match 3-0 to Ponte Vedra.

“Experiencing (the big arena) and being prepared that helped me stay calm today,” Richardson said.

The Falcons also carried the confidence of nine seniors into Saturday’s final. Richardson helped Jensen Beach overcome Barron Collier’s block by switching her hitters. Her first choice was Walch, a 6-foot-2 senior who has committed to Furman. Walch carried the Falcons with 16 kills and three blocks.

Walch clinched the victory with a kill down the line.

Walch said that facing tough blockers in practice helped her prepare for this match.

“With their great blocks, it helps me get different shots going,” Walch said. “Not just trying the same shot over and over again, and I think that helps with different placement of the ball.”

Barron Collier (19-6, No. 3 in FHSAA Class 5A), in its first state final since 2017, shook Jensen Beach midway through the second set blocking. Chloe Goldenbaum and Ava Kramer got a block.

Kendra Pruitt led the Cougars with 14 kills. Barron Coller coach Yamil Del Valle said the key to the Cougars’ struggles was that Jensen Beach took out Barron Collier’s other options.

Keira Kruk, a Berry College commitment who led the Cougars in kills, was held to three kills. Middle hitter Scarlett Martz was held to four kills.

“We tried to get them as much out of system as we can,” Del Valle said. “We weren’t able to use our middles as much as we wanted to, which is an important part of our game. Not being able to use that and keep the ball alive with our pins, it was tougher. With We tried to move a little bit the things around the game to find reaction from the girls. Even that wasn’t working.

“Just having my outsides with four, and one with only one point – Kendra with 16 – one middle with three and another middle not even making a point: We cannot compete like that.”

The Falcons adjusted by tipping off or over Barron Collier’s block, going through it or setting away from it.

I Jensen Beach also dialed up its block to give Barron Collier trouble. Handlen had three blocks and Walch added three more blocks.

“I tried to move the ball around as much as possible and trying to get around the block,” said Zehnder, who had 27 assists. “When they kept shutting us down, it was getting frustrating. We tried things such as dumping and setting the back row, and we also tried new combinations we normally didn’t do.”

Jensen Beach took control throughout the match with several key runs. The Falcons shook off a couple Ava Zehnder aces with a 6-0 run to open the first set. Walch had four kills in that run. Eventually Jensen Beach led 20-10, then withstood a Barron Collier rally to clinch the first set.

Jensen Beach senior Lauren Duke, a University of Tampa commitment, opened the second set with two aces, and the Falcons eventually led 7-2. Twice Barron Collier cut the Falcons’ lead to two points, the last on a Pruitt cross-court kill for a 14-12 deficit. But two Walch kills, a Walch solo block and a Duke-Haley Handlen block pushed the lead to a comfortable margin.

Duke and Handlen used strong third-set performances to help Jensen Beach survive a slugfest and clinch the title. Duke had seven of her 11 kills in the final set. Handlen, another senior, had three of her seven kills in the clinching set. The teams traded leads up until a 5-5 tie off a Martz kill. Duke had three kills in a run that put the Falcons up 10-6. Barron Collier went on an 8-1 run to lead 13-11. Walch then had two kills to give Jensen Beach a 14-13 lead. The Falcons never trailed after that.

Barron Collier cut the lead to one point several times late in the third set, the last 22-21 off a Falcons service error. But two Cougars errors set up match point. A Kruk kill staved off one match point, but Walch slammed a kill down the line to clinch the victory.

Jensen Beach had to fight through a lack of practice. Hurricane Nicole closed Jensen Beach schools Wednesday and Thursday, and Veteran’s Day closed schools. The Falcons lost Wednesday’s practice day, and Sawtelle had to scramble to open the gym Thursday for a practice, and the Falcons practiced for one our Friday.

“Yesterday, we did a one-hour scrimmage, and we were right on,” Sawtelle said. “WE had a great practice. We did everything we needed to do. Girls felt comfortable, relaxed. Today they were relaxed. They were focused on what we had to do. You can’t ask for anything more as a coach.” 

Photos by Lynn Ramsey