The Gulf Breeze High volleyball team's goal of making it to the state semifinals for the third year in a row came to an end Saturday.
Jacksonville Bishop Kenny held off the visiting Dolphins (28-3) in the Region 1-5A championship game 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-21.
The Crusaders now will advance to the Class 5A semifinals, where they'll play defending state champion Merritt Island -- which beat Gulf Breeze for the state title last year -- at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Kissimmee.
For Gulf Breeze, the season comes to an end and puts a bow on the area's volleyball season. The Dolphins were the only local team that hadn't already been eliminated in the postseason.
The previous two seasons, it was Gulf Breeze that ended Bishop Kenny's season and won a region championship. Last year, the Dolphins continued their magical postseason run all the way to the state championship game, finishing as the state runner-up.
That was the best finish for a volleyball team from the Pensacola area since 1997 when Pace won the Class 4A state championship.
"We've been a sand spur in their foot the past two years when it comes to getting into the final four," Gulf Breeze coach Waynn Sellers said of the Crusaders on Friday night. "I think that rubs them the wrong way. But that's all good. It's a good rivalry game. Hopefully, the rivalry continues on after this year."
