The George Jenkins volleyball record may not be indicative on how good of a team they are in Polk County because by design the team faced some of the best competition. But the war scars the Eagles endured all season and up to the 2026 Girls Volleyball District Tournament is an attempt to stay competitive and gear up for the best.
That opportunity for the Eagles was clinched when the local team beat Davenport 3-0 in the Class 6A District 8 semifinals Tuesday at George Jenkins High School. With the win, this is the second straight year the Eagles have advanced to the district finals since George Jenkins head volleyball coach Jena Ousley has been at the helm.
Senior outside hitter Rhianna Burns racked up 19 kills, 11 digs and four receptions; senior outside hitter Sydney Morrison tacked on 40 assists, 24 points, 10 kills and eight digs; and junior setter Aubrey Bailey tallied 13 digs, 11 receptions, nine assists, eight points, four aces and two kills.
"We've had a lot of tough competition all season. ... We got back in a groove. The team was positive. We played Calvary Christian who is No. 2 in the state. Lost to them. Lost to McKeel which was a huge upset. ... We played three really good teams. So we were down, but hopefully going into Thursday we will be positive and ready to play," Ousley said.
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The Eagles players were ready to play against a Davenport team that headed into the semifinals willing six out of the last seven and 21 out of 26. And of course, the last set was a microcosm of how Burns and Morrison have played all season as two of the best players in the county: Morrison racked up a key block to tally a point, while Burns executed a kill to eventually win the ballgame.
It totality, George Jenkins locked in, passed and put the ball down. George Jenkins all night was passing on serve-receive to their setter, which made the team unstoppable.
Meanwhile, Davenport managed a very successful season despite losing six seniors heading into 2026. But Davenport head volleyball coach Jorge Rivera managed to make sure his players stayed even-keeled.
"I told them, you have to do step by step. Keep building, because you don't know what can happen. Everything is unexpected. The only thing you have to do is just go day by day. And this is our goal. We did it," Rivera said.
Still, it wasn't always warm and fuzzy for Davenport. The main issue the local squad faced was communication issues. But Rivera was able to organize team meetings and really listen to what the players thoughts and feelings were, which drew the team even closer, resulting in the second straight 21-win season in a row.
Players who led this 21-win season were sophomore outside hitter Keilany Alvarez (led in kills), junior right-side Maria Camacho (second in kills), junior middle blocker Brynn Shelton (led in blocks), junior Yarizel Lopez (led in digs) and senior setter Kamila Gonzalez (led in assists). This means the majority of the nucleus will return for Davenport in 2027.
George Jenkins (12-12), however, will continue the season with a date with Winter Haven (22-4) in the district finals 7 p.m. Thursday at Winter Haven.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: George Jenkins volleyball beats Davenport in district semis