Next week, the journey begins for area volleyball teams in pursuit of the ultimate goal – a state championship
To this point, it’s been regular season matches building and preparing for the postseason and no one understands that better than Versailles, the defending Division III state champions. Despite a 10-10 record due to their challenging schedule, the Tigers were voted the No. 1 seed in the Brookville sectional. A point VHS coach Kenzie Bruggeman doesn’t take lightly.
“I was excited to see that we were the top seed in our sectional,” Bruggeman said. “I respect the coaches so much in our sectional and was thankful for their votes.
“I’m not sure if any coach has a true formula to get to the state tournament,” she continued. “At this point in time, and what it will be throughout our tournament run, we will focus on one game at a time, and only focus on the day at hand to get ourselves better in some aspect of the game. We are focusing on us right now.”
Versailles opens sectional play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18 against Meadowdale.
“The regular season was a battle each and every game,” Bruggeman said. “We play in one of the toughest conferences in the state on a weekly basis. It exposed our weaknesses and gave us our areas of improvement before heading into tournament. The girls are very excited to have tournament right around the corner, but like I said, we are all focusing on one day at a time and utilizing that day to get better.”
Also in the Division II Brookville sectional is Arcanum. The Trojans (16-3) tip off their tournament at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16 against New Lebanon Dixie.
In Division II, Greenville (10-9) took a first round bye and will await the winner between Carroll and Springfield Shawnee for a 12:30 p.m. match on Saturday, Oct. 20 at New Carlisle Tecumseh. The Lady Waves, who won 9 straight matches during a stretch this season after starting 1-5, are the sixth seed in the Tecumseh sectional.
In Division IV, Ansonia, Bradford, Franklin-Monroe and Tri-Village all will compete in the Covington sectional, while Mississinawa Valley will battle through the Troy bracket. The Jets (15-4) are the third seed in the super draw sectional and the Patriots are the fifth seed.
Franklin-Monroe will go against Cedarville at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Covington, while Tri-Village (16-3) opens play against South Charleston Southeastern at 5 p.m. on Oct. 17. The Railroaders (5-15) are the 22nd seed and will face Fort Loramie at 8 p.m. on Oct. 17. Ansonia will play fourth-seeded Sidney Lehman Catholic at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Mississinwa Valley (10-10) is the 13th seed in the super sectional and will open against Mechanicsburg at 7:30 p.m.on Oct. 17 at Troy.
