The 2026 girls volleyball postseason brought four Leon County programs to the regional round of the FHSAA state tournament. Chiles and Leon met in a district final, Community Christian won a district title in Class 1A, and Florida High advanced one round further than the rest. Here is a look back at how each team’s postseason unfolded.
Chiles (19-8)
The Timberwolves entered the playoffs as two-time defending Class 5A state champions and captured their fifth consecutive district title on Oct. 15 with a 25-16, 25-11, 25-8 sweep of Leon. Senior Loganne Abernathy led the way with 13 kills and a .520 hitting percentage, setter Riley Boykin finished with 17 assists, and sophomore Channing Savoy recorded four aces.
Chiles’ postseason run ended Oct. 21 in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals, where No. 7 seed Gainesville upset the No. 2-seeded Timberwolves 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 13-25, 30-28, 15-13). Chiles outscored Gainesville 113-103 and led two sets to one, but the Hurricanes took the fourth set 30-28 and closed out the fifth 15-13. Junior Sterling Carlile paced Chiles with 20 kills and 15 digs, Savoy added 12 kills, eight digs and six aces, and Boykin contributed 24 assists.
Leon (17-11)
The Lions finished the regular season strong enough to reach the 5A District 1 final, where they fell to Chiles in straight sets. Leon’s season concluded Oct. 21 with a 3-0 loss to Ponte Vedra in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals (25-16, 25-15, 25-17). Riley Perezluha led the Lions with 16 assists and four digs, while Abby Swee added nine digs.
Community Christian (21-6)
Community Christian won the 1A District 1 championship with a 3-0 victory over Wakulla (25-17, 25-13, 25-17) and carried an eight-match winning streak into the postseason. The Chargers fell Oct. 20 to Covenant School of Jacksonville in the Region 1-1A quarterfinals, 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 21-25). Violet McMillan, Avea Casperson, Sarah Bradley and Lyndsey Freeland were among the standouts in the season-ending loss. Bradley surpassed 1,700 career assists during the season.
Florida High (23-4)
The Seminoles turned in the deepest run of any Leon County team. Florida High won the 3A District 2 title with a 3-0 sweep of North Bay Haven (25-17, 25-17, 25-12), then defeated Freeport 3-0 in the regional quarterfinals on Oct. 20. The season ended Oct. 24 with a 3-1 loss to South Walton in the Region 1-3A semifinals (22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-19). Setter Olivia Woods finished with 32 assists, 10 digs and two aces, while MacKenzie Taber recorded 17 digs and two aces.
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