Tourney time! Volleyball teams in Crawford County learn their fate
Sunday afternoon's tournament draw for volleyball was a successful one for area teams with half of the county locking up a No. 4 seed or better.
Division III looks to be absolutely loaded — as expected — while Division IV appears to be anyone's district to win.
Let's take a look at how the draw shook out and what each team can expect when tournament play begins next week.
Division III
Sectional tournament (at higher seed), Oct. 17 and 19
Semifinals at 6 p.m., finals at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Two of our four D-III representatives open play in the sectional semifinal round and both are at home in what should be a pair of thrilling matches between teams that know each other well.
No. 7 Wynford welcomes No. 8 Edison after having met the Chargers each of the past two seasons and having been swept by the Chargers both times in the sectional final. This time the Royals will be on their home court with six seniors who will not want to see their season come to an end in the first round.
No. 9 Bucyrus has been one of the surprises of the season and earned the right to host a tournament game, with No. 10 Upper Sandusky making the trip to Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium. These teams have met twice this season in league play already, splitting the results by sweeping each other at home. If that trend continues, it would be Bucyrus' first postseason win since a five-set thriller over Edison in 2017.
Should Wynford avenge two losses to Edison, the Royals would advance to face No. 2 Galion in a county clash. These teams were supposed to meet in the regular season before the match was canceled due to the Tigers needing to make up a postponed match with Highland. Galion has lost just twice this season — at D-II Bellevue, ranked No. 19 at the time, and at No. 4 Highland.
If Bucyrus gets past the Rams, a trip to top-seed Huron awaits. The Tigers have been the class of D-II in recent years and it's expected the district title will have to pass through them.
Also at Galion High School will be No. 3 Colonel Crawford, which gets a first-round bye and will play the winner of Firelands Conference foes No. 5 Western Reserve and No. 11 Crestview — the Roughriders swept the first meeting and won 3-1 in the second — with a spot in districts on the line. An Eagles win would give the program its first sectional championship in a decade.
District tournament (at Seneca East High School), Oct. 24 and 26
Semifinals at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., finals at 6 p.m.
The winner of No. 1 Huron and No. 9 Bucyrus/No. 10 Upper Sandusky will meet the winner of No. 4 Willard and No. 6 Margaretta in the first district semifinal in Attica. Immediately following will be the winner of Galion and Wynford/Edison vs. the winner of Colonel Crawford and Western Reserve/Crestview.
Winners of the semifinals will meet for a district title back at Seneca East.
Division IV
Sectional tournament (at higher seed), Oct. 18 and 20
Semifinals at 6 p.m., finals at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Our final two county teams find themselves in D-IV, where one nabbed a first-round bye and the other meets a conference rival right away.
No. 11 Crestline makes the trip to the Cub Cave to face No. 6 Lucas for the third time this season, with the Cubs having swept the previous meetings.
And if the Bulldogs are able to avoid the triple sweep, they'll move on to face No. 3 Norwalk St. Paul at Seneca East High School. The Tigers host as the No. 1 seed.
No. 4 Buckeye Central opens play battling for a sectional championship against No. 5 New London in the second final at Monroeville High School as the Eagles host the matches as the No. 2 seed.
District tournament (at Willard High School), Oct. 25 and 27
Semifinals at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., finals at 6 p.m.
In the first of two district semifinals will be the winner of Monroeville and No. 8 Mansfield Christian/No. 10 Plymouth against the winner of Buckeye Central and New London. It would be yet another meeting between the Buckettes and the Eagles in a postseason rivalry that has been heavily in favor of Monroeville lately. After that match will be the winner of Seneca East and No. 7 South Central/No. 9 St. Peter's vs. the St. Paul and Lucas/Crestline winner.
Advancing teams from the semifinals will meet at Willard High School with a district championship and a spot in regionals on the line.
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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crawford County volleyball teams learn postseason fate
