Florida High School Volleyball Regional Championships: Local Teams Learn Their Paths
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The path to a regional championship has officially been laid out for high school volleyball teams in Florida.
Teams in Sarasota and Manatee counties have challenging roads ahead. There is just one team in the area, top-seeded Braden River, that will open the regional playoffs at home.
However, that doesn’t mean other teams should be counted out.
Here are the regional seedings for Sarasota and Manatee high school volleyball teams, and their potential paths to a regional title:
Region 2A-2
No. 6 Bradenton Christian (15-7)
!Bradenton Christian Volleyball
The Panthers had an remarkable start to the season, opening wiht a 9-0 record. However, they went 6-7 after that point and their standing in the regional rankings suffered for it.
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That ultimately didn’t matter too much as Bradenton Christian removed any doubt of making the regional playoffs by winning its district.
The Panthers, seeded sixth in Class 2A Region-2, will play at third-seeded Northside christian (17-10) in the regional quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Here is how the path to a regional championship could play
## Braden River, Lakewood Ranch volleyball teams learn regional paths
Braden River had a slow start to the year. The Pirates were 1-3 through their first four matches, but got healthy and began to jell, finishing the season on a 16-7 run, including a district championship.
That strong stretch to end the year wound up being enough to give Braden river the top seed in its region, which means it will play at home provided that it keeps winning in the regional tournament.
It will open with St.Petersburg Northeast (15-11) at home.Here’s how the path to a regional championship could play out:
Regional quarterfinals (Oct. 22, 7 p.m.): Home vs. No. 8 St. Petersburg Northeast
Regional semifinals (Oct. 25, 2 p.m.): Home vs. No. 4 Tampa Freedom OR home vs. No. 5 New Port Richey River Ridge
Regional final (Oct. 29, 7 p.m.): Home vs. No. 2 St. Petersburg OR home vs. No. 3 Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek OR home vs. No. 6 Port Charlotte OR home vs. No. 7 North Fort Myers
Region 6A-3
No. 5 Lakewood Ranch (19-8)
Riverview and venice High Schools Face Challenging Paths in Regional Volleyball Playoffs
Riverview and Venice High Schools both qualified for the regional volleyball playoffs after a competitive district final, but face challenging roads to a regional championship. Venice defeated Riverview in the district final after losing the first set, securing the district title. Both teams will begin their playoff journeys on the road, and are in the same bracket as the top-seeded Tampa Plant.
Here’s a breakdown of the potential playoff paths for each team, based on the current bracket:
Riverview
* Regional Quarterfinals (Oct. 22,7 p.m.): At No. 1 Tampa Plant (https://www.tampaplant.com/)
* Regional Semifinals (Oct. 25, 2 p.m.): At No.4 Lakeland George Jenkins (https://www.polk-fl.net/lakelandgeorgejenkins/) OR at No. 5 Venice (https://venicehigh.com/)
* regional Final (Oct. 29, 7 p.m.): At No. 2 Winter Haven (https://www.polk-fl.net/winterhaven/) OR at No. 3 Palm Harbor University (https://phu.pinellas.k12.fl.us/) OR at No.6 Lithia newsome (https://newsomehigh.com/) OR at no. 7 Dover Strawberry Crest (https://strawberrycrest.hcbe.net/)
Venice
* Regional Quarterfinals (Oct. 22, 7 p.m.): At No. 4 Lakeland George Jenkins (https://www.polk-fl.net/lakelandgeorgejenkins/)
* Regional Semifinals (Oct. 25, 2 p.m.): at No. 1 Tampa Plant (https://www.tampaplant.com/) OR home vs. No. 8 Riverview
* Regional Final (Oct.29, 7 p.m.): At No. 2 Winter Haven (https://www.polk-fl.net/winterhaven/) OR at No. 3 Palm Harbor University (https://phu.pinellas.k12.fl.us/) OR home vs. No. 6 Lithia Newsome (https://newsomehigh.com/) OR home vs. No. 7 Dover Strawberry Crest (https://strawberrycrest.hcbe.net/)
The teams will need to overcome significant challenges, including facing highly-ranked opponents, to advance through the regional tournament.