The high school volleyball playoffs open Oct. 29, and several teams from Celina and Prosper ISD have already locked up a place in the bracket.
Celina and Prosper Richland are headed to the postseason in their first year in a new classification, and Prosper is back in the playoffs after a two-season absence. Prosper Walnut Grove, in its first 6A season, went into last Friday's match needing a win, or a McKinney loss, to clinch.
Celina
The Lady Bobcats have spent most of their first 5A district season near the top of District 9-5A. On Oct. 9 they won a five-set match at Lovejoy, beating the 10-time state champions for the second time this season.
That result moved Celina to 11-2 in district play. Lovejoy is 9-3, and because Celina won both meetings it holds the tiebreaker, effectively a two-game edge in the loss column. Both teams are projected for the 5A Division II bracket, where Celina is on course for the top seed from the district.
If that holds, the Lady Bobcats would likely open against Marshall, currently fourth in 10-5A, in the bi-district round, with a possible area-round match against Frisco Memorial, the projected 11-5A champion. Celina closes district play at home against Denison and Melissa.
Prosper
The Lady Eagles swept rival Rock Hill 3-0 on Friday, closing the match with a 25-8 set. It capped a week of straight-set wins over Rock Hill and McKinney, which are tied for fifth in 6-6A at 2-7.
At 5-4 and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over both of those teams, Prosper clinched a spot in the 6A Division II bracket, its first playoff trip since 2023. The Lady Eagles were a half game behind third-place Walnut Grove (5-3) heading into the week, and the two meet again Oct. 20. Walnut Grove won the first match in four sets on Sept. 25, and the rematch could decide the district's top Division II seed.
Richland
After reaching the playoffs in its first 4A season in 2025, Richland has done the same in its first year in 5A. The Lady Raiders dropped the first set 30-28 to Denton on Friday, then won the next three to take a 3-1 victory and improve to 7-2 in 6-5A, good for second place.
Richland's closing stretch includes all three of the league's other projected playoff teams: a rematch with Frisco Lone Star, which Richland beat in five sets on Sept. 18, plus Denton Ryan (5-4) and Frisco Reedy (8-0), the only two district teams to beat the Lady Raiders so far. Richland is projected for the 5A Division II bracket, where its likely bi-district opponent is Argyle or Eagle Mountain, the top-ranked 5A teams in the latest Texas Volleyball Insiders state poll.
Sources
Star Local Media