VISAA football, girls volleyball, girls tennis fields set
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and Atlantic Shores Christian gained invitations to the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association football playoffs, but the top private-school squad in the area didn’t get the call.
Norfolk Academy (8-2) barely missed qualifying for the Division I field. The Bulldogs, who have spent the latter part of the year in the 757Teamz Top 15, beat eventual No. 4 seed St. Christopher’s 36-29 early in the season, but the selection committee judged the Saints’ résumé slightly better and gave them the final spot.
Norfolk Academy’s two defeats were to Collegiate of Richmond, which missed the D-I bracket, and Blue Ridge, the No. 2 seed in Division II.
Atlantic Shores got the third seed in D-II and will travel to Blue Ridge for a 1 p.m. Saturday semifinal, while NSA will go to Roanoke to meet top-seeded North Cross for a 2 p.m. Saturday game.
The VISAA also released pairings for this week’s other fall tournaments except boys soccer, which got underway last week.
Girls volleyball
Five of the Division II bracket’s eight teams are from Hampton Roads.
Top-seeded Nansemond-Suffolk Academy hosts No. 8 Atlantic Shores Christian at 5:30 p.m. today, while No. 4 Peninsula Catholic will welcome No. 5 Fredericksburg Christian at 5 p.m. No. 6 Norfolk Christian and No. 7 Cape Henry Collegiate will hit the road for quarterfinals.
StoneBridge is the top seed in Division III, while Greenbrier Christian Academy is fifth. The Cavaliers are home for the firstround match and, if they win, would remain there for their semifinal.
Norfolk Academy is fifth in Division I, and Denbigh Baptist landed a home quarterfinal by being fourth in Division IV.
Girls tennis
Norfolk Academy, which dominated the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools’ regular season and tournament, grabbed the No. 2 seed in Division I and will be at home today. The Bulldogs earned the right to stay on their home courts through the semifinals.
Four of the eight Division II qualifiers are from the area, including the top three seeds: Cape Henry Collegiate, Norfolk Collegiate and Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.
Cape Henry and NSA will host matches today, and Norfolk Collegiate will face Foxcroft at Old Dominion’s Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. Here are the pairings: