TROY — Though Jackson Center lost matches to Russia and Fort Loramie this season and sits behind both teams in Shelby County Athletic League standings, it didn’t stop area coaches from voting the Tigers as the top seed in the Troy Div. IV sectional.
Jackson Center, which has won the Div. IV state championship the last two seasons, picked up the No. 1 seed on Sunday in the Div. IV sectional volleyball tournament draw at Troy High School.
Fort Loramie (12-9, 9-2) earned the No. 2 seed, while Russia (14-7, 8-3) was No. 3.
The Tigers (13-8, 7-4 SCAL) lost to Russia 3-1 on Aug. 29 but won the teams’ next matchup 3-2 on Sept. 21. Fort Loramie lost to Jackson Center 3-1 on Sept. 12 but won a match against the Tigers 3-2 last Thursday. The Redskins are tied for first in the SCAL with Anna, while Russia is third and Jackson Center is fourth.
The sectional is split into four brackets, with games split between Troy and Arcanum.
Jackson Center will start its quest for a third consecutive state title on Oct. 18 at Troy against No. 22 seed Mechanicsburg. The Tigers choose to go in the bottom bracket at Troy. Emmanuel Christian (16-5) is the next highest seed in the bracket behind Jackson Center at No. 9.
Fort Loramie chose to go in the top bracket at Arcanum and will start tournament play on Oct. 17 against No. 24 Dayton Christian. No. 12 Twin Valley South (8-12) is the second-highest seed in the bracket.
Russia (14-7) went into the top bracket at Troy and will start tournament play on Oct. 17 against No. 21 Legacy Christian. No. 7 Cedarville (14-5) is the second-highest seed in the bracket.
Franklin-Monroe (18-2) and Riverside (15-3) earned the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, and both went into the bottom bracket at Arcanum.
If Russia wins its sectional bracket, it will likely face Franklin-Monroe or Riverside in a district final at Troy on Oct. 28. If Jackson Center and Fort Loramie win their sectionals, each will face a team out of Cincinnati in the districts at Troy on Oct. 28.
Lehman Catholic was voted the No. 8 seed and will play Franklin-Monroe in a sectional opener on Oct. 18 at Arcanum. Fairlawn was voted No. 18 and will play Cedarville on Oct. 17 at Troy.
Botkins was voted the No. 13 seed and Houston was voted the No. 16 seed in the sectional. The two schools will face each other in a first-round match on Oct. 17 at Arcanum.
Anna third in Brookville Division III sectional
Anna earned the third seed in the Brookville Division III sectional. The Rockets (14-7) will start tournament play on Oct. 17 against No. 13 Brookville. No. 4 Benjamin Logan (16-4) and No. 6 Arcanum (14-5) are also in the same bracket as Anna.
Versailles (15-5) earned the No. 2 seed in the sectional. The Tigers will start postseason play on Oct. 19 against No. 18 seed Springfield Northeastern (4-15). No. 5 Greeneview is also in Versailles’ bracket.
Sidney eighth in Division I sectional
Sidney (12-7) earned the eighth seed in the Dayton Division I sectional and will start tournament play on Oct. 18 at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activities Center against No. 10 Northmont (8-12).
If the Yellow Jackets beat the Thunderbolts, they’ll face No. 11 Piqua (12-8) in a second-round game. Sidney and Piqua split a pair of regular-season matches in GWOC American North play. A win over Piqua would advance Sidney into the sectional finals, likely against No. 1 Centerville (18-1).
