FHSAA Beach volleyball state tournament starts play hours after strong storm hits Tallahassee

Hours after a devastating storm brought severe weather, possible tornadoes and damages to Tallahassee, the FHSAA beach volleyball state tournament is set to get underway at Florida State University on Friday afternoon, over 6 hours after the initial 8 a.m. start time.

FHSAA Director of Athletics Danielle Hogle said she communicated with participating high schools throughout the day to discuss the impacts the storm had on the tournament.

“We obviously want what’s best for our student-athletes, so we postponed everything until we knew it was clear and safe,” Hogle said. “All of our crews here are doing a phenomenal job of getting this thing up and running."

"Our schools have been incredibly flexible all day, they’ve been stuck in hotels and restaurants without power but for them to come out here with that go-getter mentality, it shows how excited everyone is to be here.”

The tournament was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Friday with first-round and quarterfinal action, with semifinals and state championship games to be played Saturday. Schools ranging from Pensacola to Miami are in attendance.

The storm forced weather delays from the FHSAA as it rolled through Tallahassee and brought a potential tornado that roared through FSU’s campus, severely damaging the beach volleyball courts neighbor Dick Howser Stadium.

With over 80,000 residents losing power and damages throughout the area, the tournament seemed to be in doubt for a time.

When the weather passed and crews began working on the courts, Hogle said adjustments were made to the schedule to get the tournament underway.

“We are going to try and get four matches in on Friday and Saturday we are going to get in what we can,” Hogle said. “We are still working on finalizing schedules and availability, and it looks like we might push into Sunday for at least our state final.”

Hogle said it’s possible that some semifinal matches are pushed to Sunday, depending on the weather conditions and how long the games run on Saturday.

Tentative new FHSAA beach volleyball Schedule

1st round: Friday, Saturday

Quarterfinals: Saturday

Semifinals: Saturday, Sunday

State championship: Sunday

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FHSAA beach volleyball state tournament starts after severe weather