Haley Ellefson led Lafayette past Bell for the district championship. LHS has won seven straight district volleyball titles and Ellefson has been a part of five of those teams.  

BELL, Fla. — New year, new coach, same results — the Lafayette High volleyball team continues to win district championships.   

Undeterred after losing three times to Bell in the regular season, the Hornets rolled to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 25-12) win against BHS on Thursday to claim their seventh straight district title. 

LHS came out energized and never slowed down, knocking off a Bulldogs (21-5) squad that had won five matches in a row. 

“They were so pumped today,” said Hornets’ first-year coach Kelsey Land. “This is a special group. It’s exciting for me to see them love the game.”

LHS (19-6) started strong even after its two best hitters — Haley Ellefson and Sarah Hamlin — were neutralized early by Bell’s defense.   

Needing a lift at the net, Jasmine Lewis came up with six kills in the first set to spark LHS to a 1-0 advantage. Down 20-19 late, Lafayette went on a 6-0 run to win the opening game. 

“We utilize everybody,” Land said. “Haley started off a little slow, Sarah (Hamlin) was having trouble — so Jasmine really stepped up. Then when Jas was down, Haley came through.

“When one was down, the other lifted them up.”

Ellefson found her stride in the second set and dominated from there. She finished with a match-high 19 kills. 

“I started reading their blocks and reading the court,” Ellefson said. 

“Bell is good competition every year. “We wanted to prove ourselves and show what we’re made of.”

Lafayette held Bell’s standout hitters at bay most of the night. After combining for 38 kills in a win against LHS on Oct. 3, Jill Morgan and Lexi Weeks were limited to 14 on Thursday.    

The blocking of Lewis and senior Krista Lyons helped LHS take a 9-4 lead to begin the second set.  

BHS came back to win the third set, but Lafayette responded with a resounding win in the fourth set to take the match. 

UP NEXT: LHS will host a regional semifinal match on Thursday against Crescent City, which lost to Union County in the District 6-1A Championship.

Stats

KILLS – Haley Ellefson 19, Jasmine Lewis 12, Sarah Hamlin 6, Krista Lyons 3

ASSISTS – Autumn Smith 20, Kaci Law 16

DIGS – Hamlin 18, Ellefson 12, Tara Byrd 8

ACES – Hamlin 7, Law 4