The calendar turns to September and for volleyball teams across the “Southern Six” the region races begin to take shape.
Rivalry games highlight tonight’s schedule as teams continue to jockey for playoff positioning. In Class 5A, Jackson County rivals East Central and Vancleave clash in Vancleave with first place on the line. East Central comes in winners of 4 of their last 5 matches including a 3-0 sweep of Wayne County while Vancleave has won 6 matches in a row including a sweep of Laurel earlier this week. Gautier and Wayne County meet in Waynesboro with the winner of tonight’s match moving into 3rd place in the region. The Lady Gators also picked up a 3-0 victory over the Golden Tornadoes this week. Stone host Laurel tonight looking for their 2nd region win to stay in the playoff hunt as well. In Region 3-5A. Pearl River Central host Hattiesburg tonight looking for their 2nd region win of the season.
In 7A, rivals Biloxi and Gulfport face off in Biloxi. The winner of tonight’s match moves into 2nd place in Region 4-7A. The Lady Admirals are coming off a 4-set victory over D’Iberville while Ocean Springs handed the Lady Indians their first region loss earlier this week. The Lady ‘Hounds took 25-16, 25-16 and 25-17 games from GHS last Thursday. The Lady Greyhounds sit atop the region and host Harrison Central tonight. The Lady Red Rebels picked up a huge 5 set victory over St. Martin earlier this week and seem poised to battle D’Iberville for one of the final playoff spots. They host their long-time rivals tonight with the winner getting the upper hand in the race for post season.
Region 4-6A finds Long Beach, coming off a 3-0 sweep of George County traveling to West Harrison to take on the surprising Lady Hurricanes. West Harrison swept Pascagoula Tuesday night to improve to 3-0 in region play and sit atop the region standings with Hancock with Long Beach 1 game back. The Lady Hawks swept Picayune Tuesday night and host Pascagoula tonight with the Lady Panthers still in search of their first region victory. George County took a 5-set thriller at Picayune on Wednesday night and both teams sit at 1-3 in region play as they look to position themselves for a playoff spot.
In Region 4-4A the schedule is just getting into the meat of the action as Poplarville travels to Greene County tonight and Bay High host Pass Christian. Pass defeated Greene County in 5 sets earlier in the week for their first region win while the Lady Wildcats fell to 1-1. Poplarville also sits at 1-1 following a 3-set sweep of Moss Point as the Lady Tigers fell to 0-2 in region play. Bay’s matchup with Pass will be the Lady Tigers first region action.
In Class 3A action OLA swept St. Patrick this week to take early control of the region and head to West Marion tonight. The Lady Crescents have won 10 of their last 11 matches and stand at 16-2 overall. The Lady Irish saw a 6-match winning streak halted and look to bounce back hosting Perry Central tonight. In 1A, Resurrection improved to 2-0 in region play with a sweep of Sacred Heart and travel to Salem tonight.
