FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island volleyball opened the preseason with a thrilling win against Middleburg, then upped the ante with a 3-0 win against Ridgeview before taking a 3-1 victory over Fletcher on Thursday, Aug. 21. as coach Amy Yoder displayed a potent net game led by Lauren Brosky, Ava Zayakosky, Lillie Eason and Bella Mestas.

Meanwhile, blockers Saniya Robinson and Kaylee Clark have been destructive against opposing strikers.

Against Fletcher, Fleming Island won the game in a closely-battled match, 22-25. The Eagles kept the pressure on the very athletic Lady Senators with wins of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-23, as both teams exchanged rockets.

Fletcher, 19-6 in Class 6A last year and a round one region loser to 6A runner-up Gulf Breeze, rolled in fashionably late with an unbeaten record with wins over Oakleaf and Clay. The Lady Senators used a double-digit play up front from sophomores Juliette Watson and Bella Shaffer (10 apiece) to counter the Golden Eagles' front led by Brosky with 14 strikes and Eason with 11, while Zayakosky added nine.

Middleburg High center hitter Kate Lowery is a part of a tough front line of attackers for the Lady Broncos, who will take on several Class 5A playoff contenders in Week 2.

Fleming Island had an advantage on the backline defensively with libero Maddie Culbreath digging 22 strikes and Hazel Williams and Eason both getting 11 digs each. Sophomore Addison Blom had nine digs off Fletcher kill shots.

Against Ridgeview, the Panthers got a balanced net attack with six kills from Emily McCrea and five each from Adan Benda and Colette Jones.
Ridgeview's first win was 3-1 against 7A-Creekside, a region quarterfinalist the previous year, and included road trips to 7A-Atlantic Coast (0-2) and Ponte Vedra.

Fleming Island blocker Bella Mestas takes down a shot by Ridgeview's Colette Jones in the Golden Eagles' win over the Panthers.

STAFF PHOTOS BY RANDY LEFKO

Fleming Island had back-to-back road trips to Clay (1-1) and Bolles (1-1) this week, with unbeaten (2-0) 7A-Mandarin visiting on Aug. 28. 
When Middleburg played Bartram Trail, Camden Rahn and Kate Lowery each had 11 kills in the 25-21, 25-22 and 25-15 victory.

Middleburg has Trinity Christian Academy and 2A Miami Westminster Christian (22-5, region semifinals) last week, with powerhouses Leon (region quarterfinals loss to Middleburg), Chiles (5A champion) and Ponte Vedra (5A region semis loss to Chiles) in the first week of September.

Clay opened with a win over Baldwin before losing to Fletcher. The Blue Devils got six kills from Myla Barker and five from Aubrey Sellars against the Senators, with Sellars landing three service aces.
Orange Park (0-2) had a season-opening loss to Menendez (3-1) and a 3-2 loss to Bishop Snyder. The Raiders had games with Tocoi Creek, Wolfson and Episcopal during the final week of August, and against Ridgeview and Fleming Island in the first week of September.
For the Raiders, Braylee Absher and Emma Weber lead the net attacks with 17 and 14 kills apiece, respectively, in their first two games.
St. Johns Country Day School opened its regular season on Aug. 26 at Global Outreach Charter Academy after scoring two preseason wins at the Baldwin Preseason Invite.
Oakleaf, 1-1 in Class 6A, faced off with Fletcher in its opener. The Knights lost 3-1, then they beat Baldwin 3-0 in Game 2. Oakleaf finished August against Mandarin and Tocoi Creek, and they will face Trinity Christian Academy and Clay the first week of September. Gabrielle Humbles and Jiyanna Rivera handled 21 assists in the 25-14, 25-12 and 25-19 win against Baldwin.

Keystone Heights' Kadence Massey gets set for action in Week 1. The Indians opened with two wins.

Keystone Heights opened with strong wins against Crescent City and Bradford before suffering a 3-1 loss to Newberry on Saturday. Crescent City knocked Keystone Heights from the district 5-3A tournament a year ago.
The Lady Indians were led by junior Mia Rivera's astounding 36 kills, with Kadence Massey adding 14, and senior Mackenzie Castelvecchi blocking five shots at the net.
Keystone Heights continued with Columbia (0-2) and Union County (2-2) to finish August, and the Indians will face Baker County and Palatka in September.