PALM BAY — For the third time this season, Brevard HEAT and Merritt Island Christian squared off on Oct. 13 in the District 8-1A Tournament semifinals.
The Firehawks won two competitive meetings during the regular season, winning in four and five sets.
However, Brevard HEAT took its play to a higher level in the postseason and completed a dominant sweep over the Cougars 25-12, 25-16, 25-9.
“We played really well. We had an injury out, so we have a new setter in. We had four people in different positions. They really locked in (today) and embraced our new positions,” Brevard HEAT head coach Darrah Bowen said. “We have a tendency to start off slow in matches and I was like we don’t get to do that with a new rotation. You have to come in, serve strong, kill the balls and let’s move on. That’s exactly what we did.”
The defense was the story for Brevard HEAT. All night long the Firehawks were diving on the floor to keep balls in play led by senior libero Haley Cowling.
They held Merritt Island Christian to 18 kills, tied for the Cougars’ second fewest in a match this season.
“I told Haley (Cowling) that she had her best game in the last couple weeks,” Bowen said. “With the new defense, I was like you have to step up and she definitely did.”
In the attack, Brevard HEAT junior Brooklynn Elder and sophomore Charis Bennett spiked a match-high 11 kills. Senior Aine Hanley recorded 5 kills and senior Brooke Arce and junior Kara McCawley finished with 4 kills each.
The Firehawks posted an 11-1 run in set one, a 7-0 run in set two and a 13-2 run in set three thanks to strong serving. Senior Audrey Koubek served 4 aces. Cowling and junior Audrina Olsen tallied 2 aces.
“It felt really nice considering every time we’ve had close games against this team, so it felt really good showing up this time,” Elder said. “I felt like everybody brought the energy and communicated well and made sure to play clean. Just getting a hand on every ball. I feel like we showed up a lot more than we normally do.”
Elder set a new career high in kills on Oct. 13. She achieved the new high mark after sliding over from middle to outside.
“I think I played well because I’m playing a position that I don’t normally play,” Elder said. “I think I haven’t been doing too bad considering I haven’t really practiced this position too much. I just want to keep improving and keep trying to play clean and make sure the ball stays in the court.”
Elder played in eight varsity sets last year and recorded 15 kills. In her first full varsity season, Elder spiked 118 kills to go with 62 digs and 26 blocks.
“I’ve improved a lot in my blocking because I’m starting to go up more instead of like facing down,” Elder said. “I’m getting a lot more touches on blocks and everything. Just my swinging staying more consistent and my serving. I feel like that’s what I’ve improved a lot in.”
Brevard HEAT heads to St. Edward’s for the district final at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15. St. Edward’s won the regular season meeting in four sets on Aug. 28. Both teams are currently lined up to be the top two seeds for the Class 1A, Region 2 state playoffs starting on Oct. 20.
“I hope they show up to play like they did (tonight),” Bowen said. “It was a great game and I think we can take them.”
Merritt Island Christian seniors Emma Weilnau and Julia Rhodes spiked 5 kills for the team lead. Senior Kiana Montecalvo recorded 3 kills and senior Keri Shea tallied 2 kills and 1 ace.
The Cougars will enter the Class 1A, Region 2 state playoffs as an at-large team with a 14-9 record.
Oct. 13 scores
District 8-1A Tournament
(1) St. Edward’s def. (5) Calvary Chapel 3-0 (25-15, 25-7, 25-12)
The Eagles’ season comes to an end in the district semifinals. They finish the season with an 11-9 record. Calvary Chapel, who defeated No. 4 Master’s Academy (Vero Beach) in the quarterfinals on Oct. 12, won a postseason match for the third consecutive year.
District 5-2A Tournament
(1) Holy Trinity def. (4) Odyssey Charter 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-14)
Holy Trinity moves on to the district final following a sweep of the Titans. Tiger seniors Brooke Ellingson and Taylor Yochim combined for 25 of the team’s 35 kills. Senior Kilee Whyte served 10 of the team’s 21 aces.
Tigers eighth grader Emily Canlas finished the match with 9 digs and 4 aces. Sophomore Sam Smith dished out 24 assists.
Odyssey Charter completes the 2026 season with a 16-7 record. It’s the school’s best season ever after winning nine matches last year.
(2) Edgewood def. (3) Melbourne Central Catholic 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)
The Red Wolves make another district final appearance following their third sweep of Melbourne Central Catholic this season and second in one week.
The Hustlers finish the season 12-11 for the their first winning season since 2014. They achieved a dozen wins for the first time in 11 years.
Up next: Edgewood heads to Holy Trinity for the district final at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. The Tigers swept the Red Wolves on Aug. 19 in their only meeting this season.
District 8-3A Tournament
(1) Merritt Island def. (8) Cocoa 3-0 (25-7, 25-3, 25-3)
Merritt Island tallied 34 kills and a season-high 28 aces in the sweep of Cocoa. Mustangs senior Amber Ives finished with 17 assists and 8 aces. Seniors Sadie McClellan and Bella Becker served 6 aces. Junior Ema Michell spiked 9 kills and Becker produced 6 kills.
Cocoa completes the season 0-13.
(4) Titusville def. (5) Eau Gallie 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-13)
The Terriers controlled the match after dropping the first set against the Commodores to advance. Eau Gallie ends the season 8-12 with a two-win improvement from 2025.
Up next: Titusville faced Merritt Island in the district semifinals on Oct. 14. Merritt Island swept Titusville on Sept. 28 in the lone meeting this season.
(3) Space Coast def. (6) Cocoa Beach 3-0 (25-7, 25-14, 25-19)
The Vipers won their first postseason match in two years by sweeping the Minutemen in their first meeting this season. Cocoa Beach caps a 6-17 season.
(2) Astronaut def. (7) Palm Bay 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-10, 25-20)
Palm Bay took the first set, but Astronaut settled into the match to close out the district quarterfinal in four sets. The Pirates finish the year with an 8-10 record as they doubled their win total from last year.
Up next: Space Coast and Astronaut squared off in the district semifinals on Oct. 14. It’s the first meeting of the season with both teams in contention to earn an at-large berth into the Class 3A, Region 2 state playoffs.
District 6-4A Tournament
(2) Satellite def. (7) Jones 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-6)
In the lone quarterfinal being played on Oct. 13, Satellite took care of business with its sixth straight sweep. The Scorpions hosted No. 3 New Smyrna Beach in the district semifinal on Oct. 14.
District 7-5A Tournament
(1) Viera def. (4) Sebastian River 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-7)
The Hawks move on to the district final after a sweep of the Sharks. The victory snapped a two-match losing streak and it marked the 12th sweep of the year.
(3) Heritage def. (2) Melbourne 3-2 (31-29, 20-25, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14)
The Panthers scored the final three points of the match to secure a comeback win over Melbourne and advance to the district final for the second consecutive year.
Melbourne’s record is 15-6 as it’ll await its fate to see if it earned an at-large into the Class 5A, Region 2 state playoffs.
Up next: Heritage and Viera will meet in the district final for the second year in a row at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Melbourne.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard HEAT sweeps Merritt Island Christian in district semifinals