FLEMING ISLAND - With just one game loss thus far, the Fleming Island girls volleyball team maintained an unbeaten trend through the first five matches into their anticipated match last Tuesday, Sept. 2, against 4A powerhouse Santa Fe (7-2 and 20-8 last year as a region semifinalist and a Class 4A champion in 2023).

"My girls have been playing well lately," said Fleming Island coach Amy Yoder, who entered Tuesday's game at 5-0. "Everyone on this team likes playing on the same team with everyone on the same page. This is a very tight team."

Fleming Island has its five opening wins against Ridgeview, Fletcher, Clay, Bolles and,  on Aug. 28, against 7A Mandarin, which was a region playoff qualifier. Yoder's schedule gets more tenuous this week with dates against Creekside, Orange Park, Bishop Kenny and Ponte Vedra. All but Orange Park were region qualifiers last season, with Bishop Kenny a Final Four Class 4A finalist.
One notch on the Yoder's belt was a preseason win at the Bishop Kenny preseason invite over Middleburg that seemed to jump-start the Golden Eagles' confidence.
For Middleburg, the season has abruptly dipped against state-level opponents that have shaken the Lady Broncos' morale. Despite a high-octane front attack featuring hitters Camden Rahn, Kate Lowery and Maysie Bador, Middleburg took a bruising at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Gainesville last weekend.
The Broncos also stepped on their toes with a 3-0 loss to Trinity Christian Academy in their Carrie Prewitt Gym a week ago before traveling to Gainesville.
Trinity, which lost mega hitter Amaria King and her 451 kills to graduation before heading to Marquette University, came to Middleburg hot after a win over St. Augustine. Still, a loss to Providence, then proceeded to stifle the camouflaged fans of Middleburg to take a 3-1 match.
Trinity, 6-3, rolled to a 3-0 win against St. Johns Country Day School and first-year coach Amy Walker, as well as Gainesville, before traveling to Gainesville's Tournament of Champions.
Middleburg fell to 4-4 after the weekend with a 3-3 finish in Gainesville with wins over Hoover (Ala.), Osceola and Tampa Prep, and losses to 3A runner-up Berkeley Prep, 2A champion Westminster Christian and 7A region semifinalists Lake Brantley.
Middleburg returned to host Clay last Tuesday, Sept. 2, before a Thursday, Sept. 4, home match against Leon. Leon is 10th ranked in 5A, Middleburg is 11th, Fleming Island is third, Chiles is No. 1, Beachside is fifth and Gainesville is seventh.

Middleburg gets a week of Leon, Chiles, Ponte Vedra and a road trip to Trinity Christian Academy on Sept. 11.
Clay improved to 2-2 with a 3-2 win over Bishop Snyder with Middleburg, Baldwin and Oakleaf on this week's list. McKenzie Harris popped for 15 kills in a win over Bishop Snyder.
Oakleaf, also 2-2, finished last week with a 3-0 win over Tocoi Creek, but has Trinity Christian on Thursday, Sept. 4, then Clay Sept. 9.
Ridgeview, under first-year coach Sarah Anderson, is a third team at 2-2, with a loss to Ponte Vedra, after wins against Creekside and Atlantic Coast. Anderson has three hitters with 20-plus kills for the first four games - Colette Jones (27), Kara Reed (24) and Emily McCrea (22).
Walker and the Spartans are 2-1 with wins over Global Outreach and Old Plank, with the loss to Trinity. St. Johns has home matches this week with University Christian and Providence.
Keystone Heights hitter Mia Rivera has been shocking at the net with an astounding 98 kills in the Lady Indians' 3-3 record, with her total being second best in Class 3A and sixth in all of Florida. Rivera has a best of 21 kills in a 3-1 win against Bradford, with Union County only receiving eight thunderbolts in a 3-0 Indians' loss.
The Indians traveled to Baker County on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with Palatka visiting and Keystone Heights on the road to Bradford County on Sept. 8.
Orange Park is at 0-5 with Ridgeview and Fleming Island on this week's schedule. Emma Weber leads the Lady Raiders with 32 kills, with Braylee Absher adding 28.