Three of the five H-DNL teams in action in the North Coast Section volleyball playoffs on Wednesday night have advanced to the quarterfinals.
But they had to battle.
The two Division-4 games featuring local teams both went five sets.
At Eureka High, the Big 5 champion Loggers, who are seeded No. 5, got the better of conference rival and No. 12 seed Del Norte for the third time this year.
The home team won 17-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 16-14, and all three matchups between the two schools this season have gone the full five sets.
Eureka advances to play No. 4 Kelseyville in Saturday night’s quarterfinal.
Also in Division 4, the No. 6 Arcata Tigers hosted No. 11 Pinole Valley in an exciting five-set showdown, but lost the matchup 25-23, 25-27, 26-24, 12-25, 15-11.
In Division 6, St. Bernard’s and Ferndale both won their playoff openers.
The No. 11 Wildcats upset the odds on the road at No. 6 Cornerstone Christian in another showdown that went the full five sets.
No final score was immediately available, but the Ferndale girls will play at No. 3 Laytonville in Saturday night’s quarterfinal.
The No. 5 Crusaders, meanwhile, got the better of No. 12 Brave Christian in straight sets, 25-18, 25-16, 25-12.
The St. Bernard’s girls will now play at No. 4 St. Vincent de Paul on Saturday night.
We’ll have a full recap of all of the playoff games with photos and video highlights on Thursday.
