Gulf Breeze boys volleyball begins Choctaw rivalry with a win, victorious in first home game

Gulf Breeze has seen plenty of volleyball success over the last several years.

During the fall, the girls volleyball team won its fifth consecutive District 1-6A title. In the spring last year, the beach volleyball team made its debut as the first program in Santa Rosa County, winning the District 1-1A title.

Now, another volleyball team in the Dolphins’ gym is in the mix.

Gulf Breeze started a boys volleyball program this year, and the Dolphins hosted a match for the first time this season on Wednesday. They already played a pair of games last week, but finally got to play in front of the Gulf Breeze faithful.

“Boys volleyball in the Panhandle has pretty much been nonexistent beyond these past 15 years,” Gulf Breeze head coach Jackson Arnold said. “We’re super blessed to have the Gulf Breeze community behind us, pushing for this team, and making us a volleyball mecca.”

A three-set sweep (25-20, 25-20, 26-24) to defend home court over Choctaw meant a little more than just a win for Gulf Breeze. It’s a culmination of years of trying to get a team at Gulf Breeze, plus weeks of practice leading up to Wednesday’s match.

“We’ve been working for this, just practicing and practicing,” junior Nate Arnold said. “We were ready for that moment.”

All three sets were close, though the Dolphins were able to take advantage of a few four- or five-point runs to keep enough separation in the opening set. Spencer Smith served an ace to close out the first set.

It was more or less the same throughout the second set, and the Dolphins closed out the frame after Choctaw served the ball into the net.

Gulf Breeze, well on its way to a sweep, didn’t trail at all during the first two sets. The Dolphins weren’t chasing for most of the third set until the Indians took a 19-18 advantage. Choctaw maintained a lead and got to set point off a long serve that went out of bounds from Kyler Russell. That serve made the score 24-21, in favor of the Indians.

But once Choctaw blocked a spike that went out of bounds, Gulf Breeze started to gain momentum. Spencer Smith went on the serve, posting a couple aces and eventually clawed back to make it 25-24 Gulf Breeze. With the sweep on the line, Nate Arnold laid down a kill to earn the team’s first home win in program history.

“We just have a great connection with each other,” senior Phillip Robas said, referring to the ability to come back from a decent-sized deficit and record the sweep. “We have a lot of trust in each other. It’s awesome.”

Gulf Breeze (2-1) plays again on April fifth with a double-header at Choctaw, where the Dolphins will play Forest (Ocala) and the Indians.

“I’m glad we could get a great turnout for our first event. I’m super blessed to have a lot of talent on my first-year team, and a great community supporting us,” Jackson Arnold said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better first game.

Building a rivalry

There aren’t many boys volleyball teams in the Panhandle, just Gulf Breeze and Choctaw. The next closest schools are either in St. Johns, St. Augustine or Ponte Vedra. The Dolphins just played a couple games against Ponte Vedra and Menendez.

With limited local competition, that means one thing. Gulf Breeze and Choctaw will become quite familiar with one another. Outside of games on April 5 and 6 against Forest, based out of Ocala, there are four games left in the regular season for Gulf Breeze.

And all four are either at, or against, the Indians.

“I think this rivalry is going to grow. We’re both going to get better,” Robas said. “I’m excited to see them again.”

This is the second year Choctaw has fielded a team. The Indians’ schedule last year was much more spread out across the St. Augustine and St. Johns regions.

“It’s a battle of the Panhandle. Gulf Breeze is up one right now. Choctaw is going to come back hungry. … They’re very talented and they have a great coach,” Jackson Arnold said. “We’re looking forward to next time for an even better match.”

"I heard a few things under the net. I think it’s already brewing," Smith said with a smirk, referring to the rivalry.

Points of attack

Jackson Arnold said he’s “super blessed” with the players he has on his first team. He mentioned a lot of them were “natural athletes,” and several of them have played beach volleyball independently. Now, they get to transition to court play in a team setting.

Outside of the physical play on the court, Jackson Arnold noticed immediately a few players that stood out as leaders.

“We helped them become better leaders, and let the rest of the team form around them,” Jackson Arnold said. “They’re all a great group of kids. It’s easy. They’re very coachable.”

But three games into the season, the Dolphins have found multiple players to lead a “very aggressive attack.”

“We like to run a lot of back row attacks. Everyone is in system,” Jackson Arnold said. “Even if we’re out of system, that’s the way the program runs.”

Jackson Arnold noted the “great volleyball minds” of Nate Arnold and Smith, as well as the strong serving of Robas. Now, the focus turns into controlling the power that the Dolphins have, making sure to pick their places.

“We’re very talented and very athletic. But we’ve got to be better at our smaller touches because that’s what wins games,” Jackson Arnold said.

“It’s awesome that we have so many points of attacks. We’re all athletes,” Robas said. “And we’re all really good.”

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 boys volleyball wins over Choctaw, earns first home victory