Familiar foes await Pendleton Heights and Lapel when they begin their postseason volleyball journeys next week.
In Class 4A Sectional 9, set this at Yorktown High School, Pendleton Heights takes on Greenfield-Central in one of four quarterfinal matches (dates and times are to be announced).
The Arabians, who have the best record of any team in the sectional, 26-3, defeated the Cougars 3-0 on Sept. 30.
It’s the fourth straight year the two Hoosier Heritage Conference rivals have played each other in a sectional match.
In 2018, Greenfield-Central defeated Pendleton Heights in the Sectional 9 championship match at G-C. The past two years, the teams drew each other in the quarterfinal round. Pendleton Heights won 3-0 in 2019. Greenfield-Central won 3-0 in 2020.
Greenfield-Central is 9-16 this season. In the other top half bracket quarterfinal, Richmond (18-5) meets Mt. Vernon (19-4).
In the bottom half, Muncie Central (7-15) plays Class 4A defending state champion Yorktown (23-3). New Castle (6-16) will play Anderson (5-15).
The state champion has come out of Sectional 9 each of the past two seasons. New Castle won the state title in 2019.
Lapel is in the seven-team Class 2A Sectional 40, which takes place at Alexandria.
The Bulldogs (15-10) meet Monroe Central (10-13) in the tournament’s first match. It’s a rematch of a heart-breaking 3-2 loss the Bulldogs suffered on Sept. 27 in Parker City.
Down 2-0, the Bulldogs rallied to force a fifth set, then dropped the decider 15-12.
If they can avenge the loss, Lapel will take on Alexandria (16-9), which drew the tournament’s lone bye, in one of two semifinal contests.
On the other side of the bracket, Elwood (9-16) takes on Cowan (7-16), the 2019 Class 1A state champion. Frankton (16-10) will play Winchester (22-6).
According to the IHSAA volleyball tournament page, semifinal and championship matches are scheduled to be played on the same day, Saturday, Oct. 16.
Pendleton Heights and Lapel first round matches are usually scheduled on Tuesday of sectional week, which would be on Oct. 12. Bottom bracket games traditionally would be scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 14.