By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Laredo LBJ is doing its part to make the race for the playoffs in District 30-6A volleyball that much more exciting.
The Lady Wolves defeated Eagle Pass Tuesday 3-0 – 25-10, 25-23, 25-22 – to move to 2-6 on the season and into a tie with Laredo United South for the fourth spot in the district with two matches left to play.
Del Rio remains in sole possession of third place after losing to Laredo United Tuesday 3-0. The Queens fell to the undefeated district leaders 25-13, 25-19, 25-21.
Meanwhile, Laredo Alexander, which began the week in second place, kept pace with United by stopping Laredo United South in three sets, 25-14, 25-11, 25-21.
With the season coming down to the wire, the playoff scenario has gotten much clearer.
United and Alexander are both in. If United wins its final two matches, then they claim the district title and the district’s number one seed. They still need to play LBJ on Saturday before facing Alexander in the final match of the regular season.
Alexander can still clinch a share of the district crown, but they can’t afford a loss in either of its final two matches. Sitting one game behind United, Alexander faces Del Rio Saturday and then closes things against United. A loss in either of those matches gives United the district crown. If Alexander wins both matches, then a coin flip or one final match will be needed to decide the district’s one and two seeds.
Del Rio is third at 3-5. They’ll host Laredo Alexander in the final home match of the season Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium, before traveling to Eagle Pass Tuesday to close out the regular season. Del Rio needs one win in its final two matches to clinch a playoff berth. If the Queens win both, they’ll be the district’s number three seed. If they win just one, then things could get more interesting.
South plays Eagle Pass Saturday and then LBJ Tuesday in the regular season finale. If South sweeps both matches, and Del Rio wins one of two, then Del Rio and South will need to play each other a third time or use a coin flip to determine the district’s third and fourth seeds due to the two teams splitting the season series.
If Del Rio wins one of its final two matches, and LBJ wins its final two matches, then Del Rio will be third seed due to having swept the season series against LBJ.
If Del Rio loses its final two matches, then the Queens will need LBJ to beat South in their finale to clinch the third seed due to the head-to-head. If Del Rio loses its final two matches and South wins its final two matches, then South gets the third seed and Del Rio gets the fourth seed.
Saturday’s matches will clear up the scenarios even further, but as it stands now, rivalry week will have a huge impact on the final district seeding.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
