First Gulf Breeze-Pace beach volleyball matchup provides new beginning for sport in county
Yes, the Gulf Breeze beach volleyball team swept Pace, 5-0, late last week at the Gulf Breeze Rec Center.
But, in the grand schemes of things, there was a lot more to it. It was the first time that local teams faced each other. With Gulf Breeze now in its second year as a program, and Pace starting a team this year, one could say it was a long time coming.
Though, it really hasn’t been. The two schools have duked it out in indoor volleyball during the fall for years. As beach volleyball continues to grow at the college level, Pace head coach Cody Trimm – who also coaches the Patriots’ indoor team – said it “should” continue to grow more at the high school level.
And, hopefully, he said, that expands to more teams within the Escambia and Santa Rosa County area. Of the teams in the District 1 area that boast beach volleyball, the Dolphins and Patriots typically have to travel, at minimum, about an hour east.
And that’s if a team doesn’t want to head more toward Tallahassee or further south – such as Gulf Breeze playing New Smyrna Beach, a District 7 program just south of Daytona Beach.
“It’s nice not to have to drive two hours to play a match. I’m sure the girls appreciate that,” Trimm said with a laugh.
“We’re looking forward to having more and more teams in our area, because the volleyball talent in our area is great. Moving it to the beach is an exciting thought,” Kroll said. “We’re excited to have Pace be one of those teams.”
Friday was the first time Gulf Breeze had hosted a match in a month, dating back to when the Dolphins hosted Crestview on March 5. However, it was the first time Gulf Breeze had ever hosted a tri-match, with Sneads also in the mix on Friday. On Saturday, the Dolphins hosted both Bishop Kenny and Choctaw.
“We haven’t had a home match in quite awhile, so coming back and being able to be at home – and not have to travel and drive – is always nice,” Gulf Breeze head coach Chelsea Kroll said. “We’re looking forward to having more and more teams in our area, because the volleyball talent in our area is great. Moving it to the beach is an exciting thought. We’re excited to have Pace be one of those teams.”
No. 1 in the state – but there’s still more to prove
The Dolphins, after beating two-time defending state champions New Smyrna Beach a few weeks ago, have been ranked No. 1 in the FHSAA the last two polls. But Kroll and team know there’s still more out there.
And at the end of the day, the rankings mean nothing.
“There’s been lots of talk. But we know that we haven’t done anything yet. Yes, it’s nice to be recognized. But we haven’t earned that official spot yet. We think this is what’s going to happen,” Kroll said. “And we’d like to go prove it and show it.”
“We know we’ve put in the work, even though we’re a new program,” senior Riley Bloomburg said. “We’ve reaped the benefits of our hard work.”
The win over New Smyrna Beach was a little more than just beating the defending champs, too.
New Smyrna Beach ended Gulf Breeze’s season last year in the state quarterfinals. It spans to more than just beach volleyball, too. The Barracudas knocked the Dolphins out of the Class 6A girls volleyball tournament in 2022 in the region finals.
“We knew they were going to be good competition, so that’s why we really wanted to scheduled them in the regular season to test ourselves before the postseason, to see what we’re capable of,” Kroll said.
“Going back to New Smyrna after the loss in indoor was tough. But going there and showing out, showing them we were supposed to be there, that was great,” Bloomburg said. Fellow senior Addisyn Tolbert quickly added that the win gives the team “hope (they) can do it again in the future.”
Learning lessons for the future
Trimm knows that Gulf Breeze has several players “clearly with a lot of experience” in beach volleyball. But he wants to be sure his players know that the Patriots don’t want to be anyone else other than Pace volleyball.
“It’s important that we don’t say, ‘We want to be like that school.’ We want to be Pace. We’ve got Pace kids,” Trimm said. “We’re going to play Pace volleyball.”
But that doesn’t mean the Patriots aren’t trying to constantly get better. After all, Gulf Breeze is setting the standard not only in the Panhandle, but in the entire state of Florida, for what a good beach volleyball team looks like.
“When it comes to the competitive side of things, definitely. Gulf Breeze is showing the Panhandle area that this is the standard of beach volleyball. We’ve got to work to get to that point,” Trimm said. “It’s something we’re trying to build to. We’ll definitely take lessons from it.”
The loss to Gulf Breeze on Friday was Pace’s first of the season after beating Marianna, South Walton, Sneads, and Crestview twice. Though, the Patriots and Dolphins will meet again on Saturday as part of another tri-match, this time with Lincoln.
“We can use losses to better ourselves. You never want to go in excepting a loss. We knew we were playing a very talented, experienced team. … What can you take from the things that didn’t go right?” Trimm said. “We’re trying to send positive messages to the kids about building themselves up, using this sport as a catalyst. We’ve had good buy-in from the kids, as well as the parents and the school administration.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze, Pace beach volleyball face each other for first time
