Oak Hall Cruises Past North Florida Christian in First Round Of State Regional

The Oak Hall Eagles dominated North Florida Christian 3-0 Tuesday in the first round of the Class 2A FHSAA volleyball tournament.

The 25-14, 25-12, 25-7 home win is the first step in Oak Hall’s quest for redemption after a quarterfinal loss last year.

The Eagles (23-4) face St. Johns Country Day (15-7) in the Region 1 semifinal at Oak Hall at 7 p.m. Friday. St. Johns eliminated Countryside Christian in another quarterfinal Tuesday, 25-18, 25-16, 25-19.

Fast Start

Oak Hall put together a six-point run for a 12-3 lead in the first set. The rest of the set saw the Eagles trade points with North Florida Christian (8-15) to hold on to their lead. After a missed serve by North Florida Christian, Oak Hall won set point with a kill by senior outside hitter Pene Moser.

#OakHallVolleyball takes down North Florida Christian 25-14 in the first set of 2023 FHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships pic.twitter.com/XuHc7pVBnP

— Alexander Vafeas (@AlexanderVafeas) October 24, 2023

Getting Into Rhythm

North Florida Christian took an early lead in set 2 off an Oak Hall service error and subsequent hitting error. The lead was short lived, though, as Oak Hall pulled back even at 6-6.

After trading points to keep the set even at 11-11, Oak Hall’s powerful offense began to take control. Setter Cassidy McDonald spread the ball between her hitters, but Moser dominated down the stretch with seven kills in the final 10 points of the set. Oak Hall led 2-0 after taking the set 25-12.

#OakHallVolleyball takes set two 25-12 with this impressive volley. The Eagles are up 2-0 on North Florida Christian. pic.twitter.com/IR5mnwioqz

— Alexander Vafeas (@AlexanderVafeas) October 24, 2023

Dominant Set Three

Oak Hall opened the third set with the McDonald-Moser combo firing on all cylinders en route to a 10-2 lead. Moser added another seven kills to her stat line and McDonald had eight assists during the run.

The rest of the set was much the same with Oak Hall continuing to dominate North Florida Christian in cruising to 25-7 on an ace by Lizzie Cannon.

#OakHallVolleyball wins it 3-0. They will move on in the @FHSAA State Championship Championships. @RAWE_RECRUITS pic.twitter.com/vo9tr4ZhFA

— Alexander Vafeas (@AlexanderVafeas) October 25, 2023

Staying On A Playoff Run

Oak Hall coach Perry McDonald said the combination of McDonald at setter and Moser’s hits from the outside was key.

Moser, who was conference player of the year last year, was dominant with 22 kills.

McDonald emphasized there is still more to be done for the Eagles. A win Friday would advance Oak Hall to the region final Tuesday against the winner of the other semifinal between a couple of Jacksonville teams, Harvest Community (21-6) and Christ’s Church Academy (18-7).

“We’ve got some really good competition showing up on Friday.”