Plano ISD's three senior high schools will open the volleyball playoffs this week holding the top three places in District 7-6A, with Plano finishing first at 12-2, Plano East second at 11-3 and Plano West third at 10-4, according to final district standings on MaxPreps, the UIL's statistics partner.
Coppell took the fourth and last playoff berth at 8-6. Lake Highlands (7-7), Pearce, Richardson and Berkner were eliminated.
How the title was settled
Plano clinched the championship at home Friday with a four-set win over Lake Highlands, its fourth win in a row. The Wildcats are 33-8 overall. Star Local Media reported earlier in the week that this is the program's winningest season in 11 years.
The two Plano ISD rivals behind them did not make it easy. Plano East beat Plano in four sets on Sept. 22, and Plano answered with a sweep of East on Oct. 16. Plano won both meetings with Plano West, though the second, on Oct. 6, went five sets.
Second place came down to the final week. Plano East and Plano West entered their Oct. 20 rematch tied at 9-3, and East won in five sets to complete a season sweep of West. Both won Friday, so East kept second.
Coppell was the district's spoiler. It handed Plano one of its two league losses on Oct. 9 and beat Plano East twice, the second time in five sets. Plano West took both of its matches against Coppell, including a four-set win Friday in Coppell.
Two divisions, four possible opponents
Under the UIL's playoff format, the two qualifiers with the biggest enrollments from each district are placed in the Division I bracket and the other pair in Division II, and each bracket crowns its own state champion.
Which two of the four District 7-6A teams land in each bracket will show on the UIL brackets once standings are certified; the UIL's deadline for that is Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The opponents are already known. District 7 is paired with District 8-6A, where Euless Trinity won the title at 13-1, South Grand Prairie was second at 12-2, Hurst L.D. Bell third at 11-3 and Haltom fourth at 6-7.
On the published brackets:
- Division I: District 7's champion plays South Grand Prairie (24-8), and its runner-up plays Trinity (29-12).
- Division II: District 7's champion plays Haltom (12-19), and its runner-up plays Bell (26-15).
Bi-district matches will be played Oct. 29-31, with area-round matches Nov. 2-3 and regional semifinals Nov. 5-7, according to the UIL calendar. Schools set the times and sites once the matchups are posted.
