ORANGE PARK - In her Ridgeview High volleyball playing days, Jauhna Smith knew how to ignite a gym with her high-flying kill shots for then-coach Destiny Brightman and it was with that memory that Panther fans were hoping to see that fire emerge when Smith was named Ridgeview coach in July.
"I know how she played and I know it has been frustrating for her," said Merlin Smith, Jauhna's dad and also a first-year coach for Ridgeview's football team which got its first win of the season on Friday after five straight losses left Smith bewildered. "We talk a lot and she knows I got her back and I see her trying to take some things I've done in my career to get the team going."
A left turn down Blanding Blvd and you hit Orange Park High School where volleyball coach Scott Conklin has put together a strong season behind power hitters Ryanne Robinson and Leilani Smith, but not quite as strong as he would like.
"I think our game against Fleming Island showed us what kind of game we can play when we want to," said Conklin, after his Lady Raiders lost an excruciating 3-2 match against the Golden Eagles in mid-September.
Conklin, with a 9-11 record as districts approach in a week, has seen along the way to last week's Wednesday match with Ridgeview a solid 3-2 win over Tocoi Creek and another excruciating 3-2 loss to 7A-Mandarin, now 14-5.
Make a left turn out of Orange Park onto Blanding Blvd and Middleburg is just about 10 miles south where the Lady Broncos are entertaining a repeat of their Class 5A title from last year.
Middleburg, in a week of monster teams coming to town, had just dispatched of Bishop Kenny, top-ranked in Class 4A, then was to face off with Beachside, ranked number three in 5A, behind No. 2 Middleburg and behind No. 1 Chiles.
Cut to the chase and last week's volleyball action featured a 3-2 win by Ridgeview over Orange Park with the Lady Raiders taking the first two games; 25-22 and 25-23, before Smith apparently had one of the greatest third game huddles in recent Ridgeview history to ignite her team and flip the script to a 25-20, 25-23, 15-8 sweep of the final three games for the dramatic win.
Above the net, with Robinson bashing 22 kills for Orange Park and Katie Cole answering with 25 kills for Ridgeview, both teams put out enough firepower to light up Blanding Blvd's traffic lights to Middleburg.
In Middleburg, though, the firepower was a little off-kilter as a strong Beachside High team came in and, despite the raucous Horsepower fan base at Middleburg, the Lady Broncos could not answer the attack by Beachside's double duo front of Adriana JeanPierre (15 Kills) and Mollie VanDeusen (13 Kills) upped the ante against Middleburg's dynamic duo of Brooke Forkum (15 Kills) and Camden Rahn (12 Kills) to produce a 3-0 Beachside win.
Unfortunately, the teams that faced off against Middleburg at the JJVA Block Cancer: Spike Awareness tournament felt the wrath of the Lady Broncos with an unbeaten thrashing to the gold medal spot.
Middleburg coach Meredith Forkum simply stated that her team, who did not lose a game in five matches to the title game with Bishop Kenny, had to play like state champions as they were to face No. 1 Tallahassee Chiles on Tuesday, Oct. 8, if weather permitted aka Hurricane Milton.
"Yes, I think it was a good reset for us," said Forkum. who had to pivot from a planned trip to the Battle at the Beaches Tournament of Champions in Venice Beach due to Hurricane Helene. "We're hoping the weather lets us play Chiles Tuesday night."
Head east on CR 220 and hit Fleming Island as one of the last two county teams in the district 3-5A lineup; Clay (4-16) in there with Fleming Island (15-6) and ED White (3-10) as the lone outside county team.
Fleming Island's emergence as a legit threat to Middleburg's dominance comes from a 3-1 loss earlier in the season with Fleming Island getting a game on the Broncos before falling.
From that game, coach Amy Yoder has put together wins over Yulee, Santa Fe (17-6, 4th in 4A), 5A-New Smyrna Beach, and a barnburner 3-0 win over Trinity Christian Academy with losses to 7A-Creekside (14-4, Ninth in 7A) and The Rock (13-2, 25th ranked in Florida).
In the end, district 3-5A could be the best place to be come tournament time.
Note: Ridgeview will host the district 3-5A semifinals and finals and that could play right into Jauhna Smith's motivational speeches.