The South Carolina state volleyball playoffs begin today with four Midlands entries involved in first round matches in Class 2A and 1A. Twelve Midlands teams have first-round outings in in the 4A and 3A brackets on Tuesday.
Columbia, the No. 2 seed from Region 3-2A, is the only local team at home on Monday. The Capitals host Indian Land. Keenan and Pelion are on the road against Chesterfield and Andrew Jackson, respectively. C.A. Johnson has a road date in 1A against Fox Creek.
Tuesday’s 4A slate features Spring Valley at Lexington, Fort Mill at Blythewood, Northwestern at Lugoff-Elgin, Ridge View at Aiken and White Knoll at Carolina Forest. Blythewood, ranked No. 2 behind defending state champion Hillcrest, won the Region 4 championship with a perfect 10-0 conference record. Lugoff-Elgin was the Region 4 runner-up. Lexington finished second behind two-time defending Lower State champion Aiken.
In 3A, region champions Camden and Airport have home dates against Blue Ridge and Orangeburg-Wilkinson, respectively. Chapin, No. 2 in Region 4 behind Camden, hosts Greenville, and Brookland-Cayce, second in Region 5 to archrival Airport, welcomes Hanahan. Elsewhere, Gilbert’s first postseason outing in 3A is at James Island, and A.C. Flora travels to face Eastside and first-year Westwood has a tough playoff debut on the road against second-ranked Pickens.
