Volleyball states reach crucial stage for area prep teams

Asheboro’s Eva Vuncannon is surrounded by teammates as she sets the ball Saturday vs. Ashbrook in the state playoffs. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record)

Six volleyball teams from Randolph County were participating in the state playoffs this week.

Two of them received first-round byes, while the other four won first-round matches last week.

The second round was set for Tuesday. Winners of those matches will be in third-round action Thursday and fourth-round matches are set for Saturday. Regional finals will be held next week on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the teams:

In Class 4-A, Uwharrie Charter Academy is the No. 2 seed and Randleman is the No. 4 seed in the East, both receiving byes in the first round.

UCA and Randleman had home matches Tuesday and, if they advanced, they would each be home again Thursday.

Southwestern Randolph is seeded ninth in that bracket. The Cougars swept visiting Jordan-Matthews, the No. 24 seed, by 25-11, 25-9, 25-5 on Friday in the first round.

Southwestern Randolph next faced a match at No. 8 seed Anson.

** In Class 3-A, 15th-seeded Eastern Randolph defeated No. 18 seed Northeastern in three sets Saturday in an East Region match.

In the West Region, No. 15 seed Trinity topped No. 18 seed Providence Grove 25-23, 26-28, 25-13, 14-25, 15-12 in Saturday’s first round.

It was the third meeting between the Central Carolina 3-A Conference teams, with the Bulldogs winning each time. Next for Trinity was a visit to second-seeded Black Mountain Owen.

Wheatmore held the No. 21 seed and fell in three sets at No. 12 seed Polk County on Saturday. The season ended with a 9-15 record for the Warriors.

** In Class 6-A, ninth-seeded Asheboro swept No. 24 seed Ashbrook in the first round in the West Region on Saturday, then was to head to eighth-seeded Sun Valley for a second-round match.

Conference tournaments

UCA and Randleman won conference tournaments last week.

In the Four Rivers Conference, UCA was the semifinal and finals host, defeating fifth-seeded Northwood in the semifinal and also sweeping second-seeded Southwestern Randolph by 25-20, 25-11, 25-19 in the final.

Southwestern Randolph had topped third-seeded Eastern Randolph in three sets in the semifinals. Eastern Randolph needed four sets to oust sixth-seeded Jordan-Matthews in the quarterfinals.

Randleman claimed the Piedmont Athletic Conference title with a sweep of fourth-seeded Lexington and a four-set decision against second-seeded Central Montgomery in home matches.

In the Triad Area Athletic Conference, third-seeded Asheboro swept sixth-seeded Northeast Guilford before falling in four sets to second-seeded Southeast Guilford.

In the Central Carolina 3-A Conference, Trinity reached the final before losing in four sets to top-seeded and host West Davidson. Earlier, Trinity topped third-seeded Providence Grove in three sets in the semifinals, while West Davidson swept fourth-seeded Wheatmore in that round.

In the quarterfinals, Wheatmore swept fifth-seeded East Davidson, while Providence Grove cruised past sixth-seeded Thomasville.