This was a Navarre team doubted when the season began. A team not expected to do much based on some of the players it lost, be it through graduation or the unofficial high school transfer portal.

Yet here the Raiders were on a Friday night in late October, on the road against a tough Pace team, proving people wrong again.

Navarre head volleyball coach Ryan Davenport hunched over in a huddle late in Tuesday’s wild District 1-6A semifinal against Pace.

His body language said it all. This match had taken a lot out of him as he watched his Raiders will their way back from a two-game deficit to put themselves on the brink of a remarkable comeback win.

The official rivalry games for Navarre and Pace are next week when the Raiders take on Gulf Breeze and the Patriots battle Milton.

But the game that might carry the most weight is Friday night when Navarre and Pace square off with the District 1-4S title and automatic berth to the playoffs on the line.

Charlie Cottrell and Jaxson Spalla jogged with an orange Gatorade bucket in hand, doing their best to catch up to head coach Jay Walls, who was making his way through the handshake line.

But as they attempted to dump ice water on their elated coach, who had just notched a milestone win in his career at the helm of the Navarre Raiders, Walls thwarted the effort.

Navarre and Pace finished first and second, respectively, in the overall standings at the Santa Rosa County Swim Meet Thursday at the Pullum YMCA.  Milton took fourth.

The meet took place on a chilly and sometimes rainy afternoon, with swimmers huddling up in an effort to stay warm, wearing blankets and jackets, but there was also plenty of energy as they cheered on their teammates in a tightly contested meet.

Addison Maddux checked into the game with the Navarre Raider volleyball team on the brink of another win.

A player who has seen limited playing time as a freshman on varsity, she was given her moment to shine as Julia Irmen set the ball in the air and Maddux hammered home the match-winning kill to finish out a sweep of Catholic on the road.