Baker, the three seed in the Final Four, finds out if it will be Lucky 7 at 3 p.m. on Tuesday when the take on top seed Branford at Polk State College in Winter Haven. Branford made quick work of Newberry in three sets.

The match will be streamed on the NFHS Network. Baker School will be hosting watch party in the auditorium for the championship match.

The Gators and Bulldogs were as evenly matched as their three and two seeds indicated. In four sets of play, the teams were separated by a total of two points.

Baker took an early lead in the first set and was up by as many as five points before Liberty County came back.

Liberty called a time out trailing 21-18 in the first set but could never make up the Lady Gator advantage.

The second set also was full of big hits and close points before Baker squeaked out the win.

Things became interesting in the third set when Liberty took the win by five points.

Momentum seemed to have swung in favor of Liberty County in the fourth set as the Bulldogs led by as many as five points before the Lady Gators chipped away to pull even and then take the set and the match.

Kayleigh Moss continued her big post season run as she was credited with 26 kills in the match to lead the Lady Gator attack. Maddie Mills had nine kills, Haley Westberry six kills and Kat Price four kills.

Chloe Ates and McKenzie McGraw were each credited with two aces.

Ates had 32 digs, McGraw 30 digs and Moss had 17 digs.

In Baker it was the Lady Gators, the top seed in Region 1-1A, playing host to two seed Chipley. If you were expecting a backyard brawl, you wouldn’t have been disappointed. Fortunately for the Lady Gators, the brawl was in their backyard.

Baker took down the Lady Tigers in a tightly contested match 3-1. Chipley’s season ended at 8:55 p.m. The set scores were 25-22, 26-28, 25-11, 27-25.

Only the third set was a comfortable win for the Lady Gators. Anyone in the stands that is a nail biter probably hit bone win Kat Price put home the match point.

Baker is a better team 1A team than its 16-11 record indicates. Lady Gator coach Chelsea Medley purposely scheduled up in competition during the regular season so her team would be ready when the big moment comes.

“This is why we do what we do (schedule up),” she said. “That is what we push them for.

“Volleyball is a game of runs and you have to be able to play at the same level all the time. I think we were able to do that tonight,” Medley added.

Early in the first set it looked as if it would be a quick win for the Lady Gators.

Baker scored the first point of the match off a Chipley serve and proceeded to score the next four points with Chloe Ates in serve. An ace by Ates and a pair of kills by Maddie Mills and things were looking good for the Lady Gators.

But there is a reason the Lady Tigers entered the contest with a 21-6 record. Chipley wasn’t about to make a quick trip home on Interstate 10 on Halloween night. The Lady Tigers were about to claw their way to every point possible and make a match of it.

Not only did Chipley get back in the set, the Tigers would take a 14-10 lead in one of the runs Medley spoke of.

Baker was able to outscore Chipley 15-8 down the stretch of the first set to go in front 1-0 in the match.

Ates and Mills continued to play well with a little help from their friends Kat Price, Lily Adams, McKenzie McGraw and Kaleigh Moss.

The second set was a roller coaster ride of sorts as the Lady Tigers tried to cling to a lead and pull even in the match. And while Chipley held onto the lead throughout much of the set, it could never put Baker away.

The Lady Gators took their first lead of the set with the score 18-17 on an ace by Adams.

When a Mills score put Baker up 24-20 it seemed as if everyone in the gym had to be thinking one more point before Chipley scores four point s and the Lady Gators are up 2-0 in the match. That never happened as the Lady Tigers took control late in the set to tie the match 1-1.

To say Moss dominated the third set would be an understatement. The junior outside hitter scored nine of the Lady Gator points in the set with a variety of frozen rope kills and perfectly placed dink shots.

If Moss wasn’t taking care of business at the net it was Price or Mills taking charge as Baker closed to within a set of heading of the region championship.

“I was a little down on myself after they got some kills on me,” Moss said. “But I knew I had to keep fighting back and get the points for us. The other girls kept getting me the ball and I knew my team was counting on me to get things done.”

Chipley led throughout most of the fourth set but could never get the lead to more than two or three points.

A kill by Mills pulled Baker even at 12-12. A Mills ace made it 14-14.

Baker’s first lead in the set came at 23-22 on an ace by Ates.

When Mills and Haley Westberry came up for a block Baker led 26-25.

A few seconds later Price dropped a shot gently to the floor giving Baker the two-point advantage needed for the match win.

Ates said she always knew Baker would win.

“In the ups and downs I believe in these ladies,” she said. “This is the last time I’ll ever play in this gym and it Is so special. I know we could push through any adversity to get the win.”

Baker will play Liberty County in the state semifinals at noon on Monday. The state finals are at Polk State College in Winter Haven.

“I really appreciate them staying in focus and having the energy throughout the match,” Lady Gator coach Chelsea Medley said. “We came out there swinging hard and were able to play our game.”

The Lady Gators will meet host Jay on Thursday as they go for their 21^st consecutive district championship. The Lady Royals beat Northview in five sets.

Tuesday’s match with the Lady Jaguars was never in question. Central’s biggest lead of the match was 3-0 to start the second set.

It was in the second set that Central held the lead the latest of any set with a 14-13 advantage before the Lady Gators closed it out with a 12-3 run.

Baker jumped to an early 5-1 lead with Lily Adams delivering a pair of aces and Madie Mills coming up with the first of her many kills. A Kaliegh Moss kill made it 6-2 in favor Baker and the Lady Gators were off and running.

Kat Price contributed a kill, McKenzie McGraw added an ace and Mills and Moss continued to dominate the net as Baker took the first set.

The second set was the hiccup set. Even with Central playing its best and the Lady Gators their worst, Baker was still too strong for the Lady Jaguars.

Price, Mills and Moss had kills and Mills a block in the set. Adams and McGraw served up aces as the Lady Gators took a while to round into form during the set. When they did it was lights out.

Moss turned the lights out on the Lady Jaguars as she had three-straight kills to close out the set.

Chloe Ates was in serve as the Lady Gators jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and never looked back. Moss, Mills and Adams had kills during the early explosion.

Ates had an ace and Mills and Moss continued their strong play as Baker pulled away from the Lady Jaguars.

Senior Haley Westberry contributed a kill and a block in the third set and McGraw had a kill as Baker quickly put away the Lady Jaguars.

Baker coach Chelsea Medley didn’t have anything bad to say about the way her team played.

“They played very, very well,” she said. “The game of volleyball is an errors game and the majority of the points that they (Central) scored was on our errors, But they weren’t bad errors.

“They were playing hard and going hard errors. Swinging hard, just missing. I think that they were very, very intertwined and rhythm and that’s a very big deal in volleyball.”

The Lady Gators jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the first set with Chloe Ates in serve. Ates delivered three aces and Kaleigh Moss and Maddie Mills took turns pounding home kills for Baker.

When Moss and Mills weren’t causing chaos among the Jaguars, McKenzie McGraw and Karsyn Crinklaw were just girls that wanted to join the fun.

Set two wasn’t a repeat of the first set, but it took a similar route. Baker jumped to an early lead and continued to pound Central into submission. Lily Adams, a senior, had an ace in the early explosion and sophomore Katerina Price showed the future of Baker volleyball remains as bright as the past and presence with her strong play.

Haley Westberry, a senior, stepped up big as well against the overmatched Central team. A Westberry kill ended the set with a kill.

Eight of Baker’s 25 points in the third set came by ace. Mills, Adams and Ates delivered aces early in the set.  A Crinklaw ace ended the match.

“It’s always good win on Senior Night,” Laurel Hill coach Kasey Campbell said. “They had confidence that they were going to win and they went out and had fun tonight.”

The Lady Lions never seriously threatened Laurel Hill. That was in no small part because of the play of Lady Hobo seniors.

Kennedi Kilpatrick, Saige Rainey, Raelee McDonald and Laramie Boykin led the Laurel Hill charge.

Kilpatrick gave the Lady Hoboes a quick 5-1 lead in the first set as she delivered three aces. A kill by Kaelin Martin also played a part in Laurel Hill’s early explosion.

Martin was in serve as Laurel Hill forced numerous mistakes by LEAD in pushing the advantage to 13-3.

The Lady Lions rallied and closed the LHS lead to 18-14. An unforced error by the visitors made the score 19-14.

McDonald took serve for Laurel Hill and closed out the set as Boykin and Kilpatrick helped with timely kills.

A McDonald kill in the second set put Laurel Hill in front 5-4 and the Lady Hoboes steadily pulled away to take the set.

Kilpatrick and Boykin continued to shine and eighth-grader Carlee Boddy got into the act as well as the Lady Hoboes went up 2-0 in the match.

The final set was much the same as the first two. Laurel Hill took the lead early, LEAD had a brief rally and the Lady Hoboes pulled away to finish things off.

Neveah Langford joined the fun with an ace and several big serves.  

Crestview coach James Kerrell was obviously frustrated with another close loss that might have easily gone the way of the Lady Bulldogs.

“We have to be able to finish,” he said. “That requires us to be mentally tough and staying focused on the play at hand.

“In volleyball you have to be able to brush off a bad play and move to the next play and make fast adjustments. We are not making those adjustments. We are underperforming and it’s very frustrating.”

It’s understandable why Kerrell is frustrated.

Crestview led 24-22 in the first set following a kill by Kaaden Foxx, but was unable to finish the Lady Indians off in the set.

Crestview opened the second set with a kill by Dina Sheikho and the Lady Bulldogs were off and running. An ace by Shaylee Frederick was sandwiched between a pair of blocks by Aubrey Sheffield as the Lady  Bulldogs took a quick 4-0 lead. A Foxx kill stretched the Crestview advantage to 8-1.

Choctaw wouldn’t get any closer than four points the rest of the set.

Avery Price was a one Lady Bulldog wrecking crew in the middle of the set. She scored on two kills and four aces as Crestview stretched the lead to 20-9.

Crestview finished off the set with a pair of kills by Sheffield, a kill by Foxx and an ace by Sheikho.

Choctaw took the lead at 2-1 in the third set and led the rest of the way.

The largest Lady Indian lead in the set was 14-3 before Crestview chipped away climbing within striking distance. A Sheffield kill cut the lead to 21-19. A kill by Price had the Choctaw lead down to 23-21 before the Lady Indians scored the last two points of the set finish it off.

Choctaw led 6-0 in the fourth set before Crestview mounted yet another comeback. A kill by Savana Anders cut the Indian lead to 14-12.

Later, a Sheffield kill followed by a Sheikho ace followed by a Sheikho kill and a Foxx kill put the Lady Bulldogs up 21-18. An ace by Sheffield put Crestview up 24-21 in need of one point to send the match into the fifth and deciding set, but it wasn’t to be.

Niceville 3, Baker 0: Scores 25-13, 31-29, 25-15.

Baker 3, Crestview 0: Scores 25-21, 25-21, 25-18.