'Best moment': How Riley Bridda boosted Fletcher to Gateway volleyball

Serve after serve, point after point, Riley Bridda watched the scoreboard keep adding up.

Three points in a row. Then four. Then five. And she was just getting started.

“No, I’ve never [had a run like that]… I was just concentrating on the game and thinking about what was best for my teammates,” Fletcher’s junior middle blocker said.

With size and serves and an 18-1 second-set surge that swung momentum, the Senators stormed back to the top of Gateway Conference high school volleyball for the first time since 2021, knocking off No. 1 seed Wolfson 23-25, 25-8, 25-19, 25-16 on Oct. 8.

Runner-up three of the last four years, Fletcher (17-7) returns to the top of Duval County public schools, winning the rubber match in their third contest against Wolfson (16-6) and avenging their 2025 Gateway defeat.

The turning point? Look no further than the 18-1 run, with Bridda’s swerving serves turning the Wolfpack inside out.

“Everyone kind of rallied around her energy,” Fletcher coach Lainey Miller said, “and we just rolled from there.”

FLETCHER MIGHTY IN THE MIDDLE

Leaning on down-the-middle strength is nothing new for Fletcher.

When the Senators needed to swing the momentum, from that service run during the second set to a comeback from three points down in the third, Bridda and fellow middle Chelsea Akakatang — listed at 6 feet and 5-10 respectively, but playing even taller — came through again and again.

“We have really active middles, players that can play a lot of different positions and leadership even from underclassmen,” Miller said.

Though Wolfson grabbed the first set with clutch points from Emma Mae Abernathy, the Senators took control as Florida A&M commit Akakatang and Bridda, who entered with 147 combined blocks, formed a purple wall at the net.

“Our defense and our blocks were definitely a key factor,” said Akakatang, who recorded the clinching point in the second, third and fourth sets.

When Wolfson fought off the serves, Fletcher found the endurance to win marathon points with gritty work on defense from freshman Brooklyn Lockwood, libero Brikelle Phillips and setter Juliette Watson.

For a Senators team that’s taken on a schedule near Northeast Florida’s best, there’s no better time to peak. They’re riding an 11-match winning streak into the Florida High School Athletic Association district tournament, which opens Oct. 12.

“These girls have been working hard,” Miller said. “We’re going to be back in the gym on Monday and ready to roll.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ‘Best moment’: How Riley Bridda boosted Fletcher to Gateway volleyball