As the regular season nears an end, two Marion County volleyball teams have cemented their spots in the MHSAA State Tournament and are now looking to build momentum that can carry over into postseason play.
Despite having a slow start against district opponents, West Marion (17-10) rallied late in the season to put themselves back in position for a playoff berth. The Lady Trojans won three of their final four district games, sweeping Tylertown once and Perry Central twice to reestablish themselves as the No. 3 seed in Region 8-3A. Although the path they'll have to take in order to make their way through the playoff bracket is still uncertain, head coach Cory Odom said he and his team are focused on finishing strong in Thursday's regular-season finale at Wesson and carrying as much momentum as they can into the postseason.
As for East Marion (20-6), the Lady Eagles' regular season ended Tuesday night with a non-district road game against Sumrall. They cemented their spot atop the Region 7-2A standings last week with a 3-0 home win over Forrest County Agricultural, which gave them the luxury of having a bye in Round 1 of the playoffs. For now, they'll have to wait to see who their first postseason opponent will be, but head coach Mandell Echols believes his team is ready to take on any challenge that presents itself.
"We have a young team this year, but it's a really talented team, and they're getting better every single game," Echols said. "They're growing more confident and playing together well as a team, so we feel like we'll have a chance to compete with whoever we may come across in the playoffs. Of course, we've still got to execute and win each game, but if things play out the way we believe they should, we could see ourselves getting to South State and having a chance to go even further."
Unfortunately for Columbia (9-16), the Lady Wildcats' hopes of reaching the playoffs were doused Sept. 29 with a district loss to Sumrall, cementing their spot at No. 4 in the Region 7-4A. Although they started the season with high hopes for more success, head coach Ryan Loftin said the experience acquired over the course of the past two months should help lift the team to new heights in the season to come.
