TROY — Fort Loramie’s volleyball team was able to claw its way to its 11th consecutive district title as an underdog last season. The Redskins had a below-.500 record at the time of the tournament draw but knocked off higher seeds in Franklin-Monroe and Lehman Catholic to earn another regional berth.
There’ll be none of that this year for Fort Loramie — they’re fully expected to extend the streak of district titles to 12.
The Redskins (19-2) were voted the top seed in the Troy/Covington Division IV sectional and will likely face just one team with a winning record in their first three tournament games.
The squad is just one of several area teams that earned No. 1 seeds in tournament draws on Saturday. Lehman Catholic’s girls soccer squad and Botkins boys soccer squad also earned top seeds. Tournament seeds are determined by voting of head coaches of each team in a sectional.
Area D-IV volleyball teams swept the top four seeds. Lehman Catholic (17-4) was voted the No. 2 seed, Russia (11-10) was voted the No. 3 seed and Jackson Center (11-10) was voted the No. 4 seed.
The four squads all went into the four different sectional brackets. Two brackets will play the first three rounds at Covington High School, while two will play their first three rounds at Troy High School. All D-IV district finals will be on Oct. 26 at Troy’s Trojan Activities Center.
Lehman is the top seed in the Covington upper bracket while Jackson Center is the top seed in the lower bracket. Russia is the top seed in the Troy upper bracket while Fort Loramie is the top seed in the lower bracket.
Fairlawn (10-11) is the No. 9 seed, Riverside (13-7) is the No. 11 seed and Botkins (5-16) is the No. 17 seed.
Troy Christian (14-5) is likely the only team with a winning record Fort Loramie will have to beat to get to a district final.
The Redskins will open tournament play against No. 22 Triad (1-16) on Oct. 15 at Troy and would advance to a second-round game against Dayton Jefferson (1-14) with a win. A victory in the second game would likely result in a district semifinal matchup with the Eagles, which will open tournament play with a second-round game against Ansonia (6-13).
Russia will open tournament play on Oct. 15 against Tri-Country North (3-15) and would face Bradford (6-14) in a second-round game with a win. A victory over the Railroaders would likely earn the team a district semifinal matchup with Tri-Village (15-5) or Southeastern (12-8). Those two teams will play in a first-round game, and the winner will advance to face Botkins in a second-round game on Oct. 19.
Lehman’s path to a district final involves no team with a record currently over .500. Fairlawn, which will open tournament play on Oct. 17 against Springfield Emmanuel Christian, currently has the best record of other teams in the Covington top bracket. The Cavaliers will open tournament play on Oct. 17 against Mississinawa Valley (2-14).
Jackson Center will likely need to beat two squads with winning records to get to a district final. The Tigers will open tournament play on Oct. 15 against Newton (5-14) and would advance to a second-round game against Yellow Springs (16-1) with a win. A victory over the Bulldogs will land the Tigers in a district semifinal against either Franklin-Monroe (14-5), Mechanicsburg (11-9) or Riverside. The Pirates will face the Franklin-Monroe/Mechanicsburg winner on Oct. 19.
Versailles 4th, Anna 6th, Houston 12th in Brookville D-III sectional
Versailles was voted the No. 4 seed, Anna was voted the No. 6 seed and Houston was voted the No. 12 seed in the Brookville Div. III sectional.
Versailles and Anna went into the same bracket and could face off in a district semifinal on Oct. 23. The Tigers (9-11) will open postseason play on Oct. 17 against Bethel while Anna (12-10) will open tournament play the same night against Twin Valley South.
Houston (7-14) will open tournament play on Oct. 15 against Arcanum.
Sidney 12th in Dayton D-I sectional
Sidney was voted the No. 12 seed in the Dayton Div. I sectional. The Yellow Jackets will start tournament play in a second-round game against the winner of Xenia vs. Stebbins on Oct. 17 at Centerville High School. A win would advance the team to a district semifinal, likely against No. 1 Centerville (16-4).
Complete brackets for all volleyball sectionals and other fall sports tournaments can be found at ohsaa.org/swdab.
• Girls soccer
Lehman Catholic 1st in D-III, Anna 2nd in D-II
Lehman Catholic (11-1-1) earned the No. 1 seed in the Division III North sectional and will open tournament play at home on Oct. 17 against the winner of Indian Lake vs. Springfield Northeastern. A victory would advance the squad to a district semifinal on Oct. 21 at Wayne High School against the Middletown Madison vs. Franklin-Monroe winner.
Botkins (3-11) was voted the No. 23 seed in the D-III North sectional and will start tournament play on Oct. 14 at Miami East.
Anna (12-0-1) earned the No. 2 seed in the D-II North sectional and will start tournament play on Oct. 17 at home against the winner of Graham vs. Benjamin Logan. With a win, the Rockets would face the winner of Milton-Union vs. Urbana in a district semifinal on Oct. 21 at a site to be determined.
Sidney (7-6-2) was voted the No. 12 seed in the D-I North sectional and will start tournament play on the road against Fairborn on Oct. 14. A win would advance the team to a second-round game at Troy on Oct. 17.
• Boys soccer
Botkins 1st in D-III
Botkins earned the No. 1 seed in the Div. III North sectional. The Trojans will start tournament play on Oct. 15 at home against Carlisle and if victorious will host Fairlawn (1-13) in a second-round game on Oct. 19. A win over the Jets will put the team in a district semifinal on Oct. 22 in Piqua, likely against either Lehman Catholic or Jackson Center.
The Cavaliers (9-6-1) were voted the No. 8 seed and will host Miami Valley in a first-round game on Oct. 15. Jackson Center (7-5-2) was voted the No. 11 seed and will host Springfield Catholic Central on Oct. 15. If both teams win their first games, they’ll face off on Oct. 19 at Lehman, with the winner likely facing Botkins on Oct. 22 in Piqua.
Sidney (8-4-3) was voted the No. 9 seed in the D-I North sectional and will start tournament play with a home game against Dayton Belmont on Oct. 15. With a victory, the team will travel to Springboro on Oct. 19.
