Dig this: district play underway
Area teams are top contenders in the region and state girls volleyball tournaments every year, but they have to make it past districts to get there, and that can be one difficult task.
District tournaments kicked off Monday night and will continue through the end of the week.
Here are some of the most interesting:
Best left behind: Some of the area’s best teams will be left out of the playoffs when the 8A, District 2 tournament is over.
Three teams have been ranked in the Sentinel’s top six at some point this season: Winter Springs, Lake Mary and Oviedo.
Winter Springs rules undefeated in district play, but the No. 2 spot is wide open for the other six teams contending.
Second seed Lake Mary is a front-runner, having beaten both No. 3 Oviedo and No. 4 Seminole.
District duel: Barring a major upset, Winter Park and Boone would face off for the 8A-4 championship. Even though Boone holds the No. 1 seed, it barely beat Winter Park 3-2 earlier in the season, and the Wildcats have improved since then.
Sweeping victories: Hagerty has swept everyone in 7A-6 — an eightteam district — in three games except Lake Nona, which it beat 3-1.
Runner-up race: Bishop Moore is a cut above opponents in 5A-13, so the story will focus on who captures second place and a trip to the playoffs: Groveland South Lake, Eustis, Leesburg, Tavares or Kissimmee Poinciana?
Private-school showdown: Lake Highland and Trinity Prep lead the way in 4A-6 as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively.
Royals fall
First Academy has been in the area rankings all season until this week.
Last week the Royals dropped to No. 6 after being swept by unranked Oviedo and Seminole in the Swing for a Cure tournament, which could be chalked up to a bad day, but teams hovering on the outskirts of the rankings closed out their seasons strong to oust the Royals.
Enter Lake Mary and Hagerty at fifth and sixth, respectively.
Lake Mary hasn’t lost to an area team since Sept. 21 against No. 2 Spruce Creek. Hagerty closed the season with a four-game win streak.
Super Six
(prior rank in parentheses)
1. (1) Winter Springs (23-2)
2. (2) Port Orange Spruce Creek (24-0)
3. (4) Bishop Moore (21-4)
4. (3) West Orange (22-3)
5. (NR) Lake Mary (17-7)
6. (NR) Hagerty (19-7) Alicia Del Gallo