The crown has been defended.
The Gulf Breeze beach volleyball team, in just its third year of existence, has won its second state championship after beating New Smyrna Beach, 3-0, in the Class 2A title game on May 10 at Florida State in Tallahassee. Playing just until they needed to win, the Dolphins’ first three pairings that played – the two’s, four’s and five’s – secured the abbreviated sweep.
Izzy Beech and Carmyn Ferguson put Gulf Breeze up, 1-0, after beating New Smyrna’s Beach squad in the fourth pairing, 21-10 and 21-6. Then Sydney Sutter and Allie Hepworth – who helped clinch the state crown in 2024 – won in the second pairing bout with set scores of 21-9, 17-21 and 15-7…