The area volleyball teams advanced to the second round of the playoffs in their respective classification to make runs into the regional rounds and continue their seasons.
The Fairfield Lady Eagles advanced to the Region III Division I playoffs and would battle the Grandview Lady Zebras at Robinson High School. This is a repeat matchup from last season when the Lady Zebras ended the Fairfield season.
Grandview dominated the first two games in the match with 25-17 and 25-21 wins, but the Lady Eagles battled back in the third game to take a 25-20 win. Fairfield grabbed some much-needed momentum with a dominating win in the fourth game 25-15 by taking a sizable lead and holding it throughout the remainder of the game to tie the match, sending it to a deciding fifth game.
The Lady Zebras caught some set points and took the lead and maintained it to the finish of the 15-7 game win and match clinching point, sending them onto the third round of the playoffs and a date with the Lady Trojans of Troy in the Regional semifinal. Fairfield moves onto basketball where they will stake their claim as the top ranked team in Class 3A as the reigning state Class 3A Division I champions.
The Teague Lady Lions advanced past the first round for the first time in eight seasons and had an easy time of the West Lady Trojans in the area round with a straight set victory at Blooming Grove High School. They advanced to the regional semifinal round, and the game site was A&M Consolidated High School, and the opponent was the Hardin Lady Hornets. Saturday afternoon produced a marathon five set match, and the Lady Hornets claimed a 3-2 victory and moved into the fourth round of the playoffs.
The Wortham Lady Bulldogs (right)advanced through the region to take on the Riesel Lady Indians at Hubbard High School on Thursday night. They took the lead in the opening game of the match and led by as many as seven at 21-14. They closed out the first game with a 25—18 win.
Riesel rallied in the next three games, never trailing in game two and evening the match with a 25-20 win. Wortham took the early lead in the third game, but Riesel took an 8-7 lead and forced a Lady Bulldog timeout. The game remained close, and the Lady Indians claimed the win and a 2-1 edge in the match.
The closeout game was similar to game three when Riesel took the lead midway through and won the game and the match 25-21 and 3-1. Riesel would move on to take on state ranked North Hopkins in the regional semifinal.
(Wortham Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
