Niceville volleyball winners of 10 of past 11, embracing 'grit'

NICEVILLE — It's not so much a motto, but a way of life for Niceville volleyball.

>"Grit" — that's what the Eagles call the recipe behind their 12-3 start, and it can take on added meaning depending on who you talk to.

>For Anna Sutter and Katherine Newkirk, standing 6-foot-2 and 6-foot on the middle block, it means embracing life as Niceville's first line of defense at the net.

>For libero Aprille Trotter, it means no weak links on the defensive end; she and her teammates telling one another before every match, "Don't let the ball drop. Keep the ball off the floor."

>For setter and three-year starter Carnley Summerlin, it means wearing many hats: quarterback of the offense, blocking alongside the middles and being that voice to make sure bodies are flying around, loose balls are staying in the air and communication is flowing.

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>As for the outside hitters, also an integral part of Niceville's vaunted block, Kate Jannazo said it's partly anticipating where the ball's going, seeing the opponents' arm slots and judging the angles to be set up best defensively. For Claire Ivey, "we just are always hustling, always working on being gritty and relentless and going all-out for every ball." And for Riley Skowronski, she brought up a culture low on egos but high on the confidence in each other, the kill or block less important about who gets it, only that it gets done.

>"Grit, that's our word," Niceville coach Karson Jessup affirmed. "They are not letting balls on the floor without a body behind it, and that's something that we talk about a lot in practice. Like, we want to show grit. We want to show that, 'Hey, it's hard to get points on us.' We're not letting hitters get high hitting percentages against us because that's our mission. We're working hard in practice, hitting hard and playing every point like it means something. These girls don't take a point off."

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>Tuesday represented that, Niceville following up a five-set victory at Choctaw with a convincing sweep of reigning Final 4 qualifier South Walton for the Eagles' 10th win in 11 games. Once 2-2, the Eagles are 12-3, ranked ninth in 5A and third in Region 1 behind only powerhouse Gulf Breeze and Middleburg.

>A big part of the turnaround, said Jessup, has been the elevated play of her middles. Not only are they the first line of defense, they're attacking those quick-tempo sets from Summerlin to keep the opposing block from focusing on Niceville's outside attack.

>"I would say we're on them the most in practice right now," Jessup said of her middles, "just trying to keep them involved more in transition rather than just the regular old perfect pass. So they're starting to buy into the process, and it's really cool to see them capitalize on the things that they thought they couldn't do, but now they can do."

>Echoed Trotter, "They're the first part of our defense, and we're like the backup, you know? So yeah, our blocking is really strong, and it was really strong tonight. They're always pressing ... and I depend on my blockers. I'm like, 'Please protect me so I don't get hit in the face.' "

>Newkirk and Sutter are glad to serve up that protection.

>"I feel like a lot of practice is honed in on the wall," Sutter said. "You're just making sure again, you're protecting. It's the first part of defense, so yeah, we're doing the necessary work and it's paying off."

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>Added Newkirk, "Both of us love blocking; it's my favorite part of volleyball, so I take a lot of pride in the filling that defensive role and helping the team win any way I can."

>Sutter teamed up with Jannazo and then Summerlin Tuesday for back-to-back blocks to highlight a 6-0 run in the first set that put Niceville up 13-4. Later, Newkirk and Skowronski had key blocks in the 25-16 opening set win. That set the tone for an Eagles defensive clinic, Janey Elder and Trotter routinely extending rallies with clutch digs and the block stifling a Seahawks team missing star outside hitter Maci Jones. The result was a 25-16, 25-14, 25-16 win that captured Niceville's depth as Sutter delivered 12 kills, Ivey and Jannazo each had eight kills and Newkirk and Skowronski both had six kills.

>So many mouths to feed could be a problem for most setters. For Summerlin, it's a juggling act she relishes.

>"I just try and give everybody an opportunity for kills," she said. "A lot of practice goes into it, like hitting lines and repetition, and you just get a sense of where to go based on where the game takes you."

>Jessup, a former setter at Niceville, has had Summerlin under her wing for three years. Countless Saturdays together, film time and practice reading the court has shaped Summerlin into the model of consistency she is today.

>"She's a senior setter, and she knows how to run it offense, so she's taken it over," Jessup said. "She just continues to talk to her teammates and go around the horn."

>Added Ivey, "She's a great setter, and she's always trying to give us the perfect ball. Like, she takes blame for everything if it's a bad swing by us. She's just an amazing teammate who makes everyone better."

>Sutter said Summerlin makes the feeds look easy.

>"She's just a natural one on the court, and her volleyball IQ has always been high," said the senior. "She just knows who can put them away at what time. She always sees the blockers, who's pulling into certain spots, and she's done a really good job of getting us the ball."

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>Echoed Jannazo, "I love Carnley. She just knows the game so well."

>Niceville's hoping to put it all together again Thursday night in a highly anticipated matchup at Gulf Breeze, which went 3-0 against the Eagles last season and has become a staple in state title games. If they expect to win districts and regionals, the Dolphins will be a major roadblock.

>"We have a lot of seniors on this team," said Summerlin, one of seven seniors on the squad, "so that's one of our goals is to make it to regionals and past regionals."

>Jessup said the Eagles were not mentally there in a first-round regional sweep to Horizon. This year, she sees a more-experienced Eagles squad ready to learn from past mistakes and pave the way for future Eagles.

>"If we're successful, I want to be successful because we're creating a culture that means something to everyone here and to everyone coming here," Jessup said. "I want to develop great players and also great people. I come from Niceville volleyball, so this program means everything to me. We want to compete at the highest level, and if we lose, we'll know we left it all out on the court."

>This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Niceville volleyball winners of 10 of past 11, embracing 'grit'