Falcons have tough test ahead in playoffs

By Karl Lyles - klyles@heraldonline.com

The fourth-ranked Nation Ford Falcons haven't lost a game in the first two rounds of the state volleyball playoffs. At 6 p.m. today, they host Hillcrest in their final home contest of the season.

The winner moves on to Thursday's Upper State championship. The state finals are scheduled for Saturday at White Knoll High School in Lexington.

Nation Ford (25-3) is the No. 1 seed out of Region 3-AAAA. This is the Falcons' second time in the playoffs in their third season of existence. The team beat Spring Valley and Boiling Springs to advance to tonight's match.

Nation Ford will have to beat a pair of Region 2-AAAA teams to make it to the finals, starting with Hillcrest, a team with a history of volleyball success. The Rams have won two of the last three state championships. They are the No. 2 seed out of the loaded Region 2-AAAA. The region has produced all but one state champion this decade.

“The girls are just excited and ready to play,” first-year Nation Ford coach Carrie Christian said. “They know it will be the toughest match they have played all season.”

The teams met in a scrimmage in August. Christian and her team saw the Rams play at the Hillcrest tournament in September but did not face them.

Hillcrest, 17-4 and ranked sixth in the latest state poll, has beaten Easley and Rock Hill to advance to the third round. The Rams are no strangers to the latter rounds of the postseason. Coach Lynn Avant's teams won state titles in 2006 and 2007 and have played in five consecutive Upper State championship matches.

A Falcons win would put them on the road against the winner of the Dorman-Byrnes match.

Byrnes, the reigning state champion, is ranked 10th. Top-ranked Dorman (24-1) has been to 12 state championship matches and has won 10 times, most recently in 2004.