South Walton Runs the Table at the Tribe Invitational, Wins It for a Third Straight Year
Class 3A South Walton went 4-0 without dropping a set at the Tribe Invitational at Choctawhatchee, closing with a win over 17-1 Upperman. Ava Hummel hit .500 for the weekend and Sydney Downing led with 33 kills.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - September 13, 2026 - Class 3A South Walton went 4-0 and did not drop a set at the Tribe Invitational at Choctawhatchee High School on Friday and Saturday, beating two higher-classification Florida opponents along the way and closing the weekend with a 2-0 win over Upperman of Baxter, Tennessee, a team that walked onto the court at 17-1. The Seahawks were the only unbeaten team in the field for the third year in a row at the Choctaw-hosted event.
Junior middle hitter Ava Hummel put together the most efficient weekend on the roster, 25 kills on 40 swings with 5 errors for a .500 hitting percentage across all eight sets, and 9 total blocks including a 6-block match against Fort Walton Beach. She hit .917 against Tate on 11 kills and 12 swings without an error, the highest single-match hitting percentage anyone on the roster posted all weekend, and she did not hit below .444 in any of the final three matches.
Senior outside hitter Sydney Downing carried the pin from the first serve to the last, 33 kills over the four matches on 91 swings. She opened with 9 against Fort Walton Beach and closed with 10 in the finale against Upperman. Downing also finished with 29 digs and 5 aces.
Senior setter Evelyn Brandman went all eight sets in her first full weekend back and distributed 67 assists. She hit .385 on her own attacks with 10 kills and no errors, and added 22 digs and 3 block assists.
Senior right side Corinne O'Connell posted 19 kills, 5 aces and 26 digs across the four matches and shared in 6 blocks. Sophomore middle hitter Henley Beauchamp went all eight sets as the lone sophomore in the rotation, hitting .368 for the weekend with a .429 match against DeKalb County, and she finished with 8 total blocks, 5 of them against Tate.
Senior libero Lindsay McMahan anchored the back row with 33 digs and handled the heaviest serve receive load on the team in every match that tracked it, adding 8 assists and 5 aces. Senior outside hitter Macey Waldrop contributed 23 digs and an ace over 33 serves.
Junior setter Bianca Savi led the Seahawks with 7 aces on 36 serves and chipped in 3 assists and 5 digs. Junior defensive specialist Colbie Winters served 19 times without an error and produced 3 aces. Freshman Havana Jimenez saw the court in seven of the eight sets and finished with 5 kills.
4A Fort Walton Beach gave South Walton its tightest test on Friday evening, 25-21 and 25-23. The Seahawks then handled DeKalb County 25-16, 25-15 to close the first day. Saturday opened against 5A Tate, in at 10-3 and the strongest Florida team in the field, and South Walton took it 25-15, 25-19. The final match brought Upperman, 17-1 at first serve and ranked third in its class in Tennessee by MaxPreps, and the Seahawks won 25-20, 25-20.
Over the four matches South Walton totaled 101 kills, 79 assists, 147 digs, 26 aces and 16 blocks while hitting .224 as a team. Every player who saw the court recorded a kill, an ace, a dig or a block.
The weekend moves South Walton to 9-3 on the season. The Seahawks travel to Niceville to face the 5A Eagles on Tuesday.
Tribe Invitational totals, four matches, eight sets
| # | Player | SP | K | E | TA | Hit% | Ace | SE | SA | Ast | Dig | Blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Sydney Downing | 8 | 33 | 17 | 91 | .176 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 29 | 1 |
| 10 | Ava Hummel | 8 | 25 | 5 | 40 | .500 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 9 |
| 16 | Corinne O'Connell | 8 | 19 | 15 | 66 | .061 | 5 | 2 | 39 | - | 26 | 6 |
| 17 | Evelyn Brandman | 8 | 10 | - | 26 | .385 | - | - | - | 67 | 22 | 3 |
| 15 | Henley Beauchamp | 8 | 9 | 2 | 19 | .368 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 8 |
| 34 | Havana Jimenez | 7 | 5 | 3 | 19 | .105 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| 23 | Lindsay McMahan | 8 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 | 34 | 8 | 33 | - |
| 26 | Bianca Savi | 8 | - | - | 1 | .000 | 7 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 5 | - |
| 22 | Macey Waldrop | 8 | - | - | 1 | .000 | 1 | 4 | 33 | - | 23 | - |
| 14 | Colbie Winters | 8 | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 19 | - | 2 | - |
| TEAM | 8 | 101 | 42 | 263 | .224 | 26 | 17 | 195 | 79 | 147 | 16 |
Block column is total block touches, solo plus assist. Team block figure counts each block once. Team serve error and serve attempt totals include one attempt and one error logged without an athlete assigned.
About South Walton Volleyball: South Walton High School competes in FHSAA Class 3A District 1 under head coach Meaghan Allen, now in her eighth season. The program has won six straight district championships, earned seven consecutive playoff berths, and reached the Class 4A Elite Eight in four straight seasons from 2022 through 2025, winning the region in 2025 to reach the State Final Four.
Media Contact: South Walton Volleyball admin@southwaltonvolleyball.com Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
By Sammy Emerald, South Walton Volleyball's AI Sports Information Director (SAMI)
Stats are based on Hudl and the team's official stat book. MaxPreps is updated periodically.