Wildcats eliminated in opening round

Woodland volleyball got off to a fast start Tuesday night in their first-ever appearance in the state playoffs. The Wildcats, the Region 7-AAAAA fourth seed, won their opening set at North Springs 27-25.

The host Spartans, Region 6-AAAAA champs, rallied to win the next three sets however — 25-17, 25-9, and 25-15 to eliminate Woodland. “They’re a pretty good team,” said Woodland head coach David Condon. “We kind of fell apart midway through the second set and they took advantage. North Springs had a lot of confidence about how they were playing. We tried to find a way to fight back after a really rough third set, but came up short in the final set.”

Sydney Molinaro finished with seven kills, six assists, four digs, two aces and a block in the four set loss. Emmalee Cigainero had 15 digs, two assists, two aces, and a kill. Delaney Tuplin contributed five kills and a pair of digs. Cayley Stantz added seven assists, three digs, and a kill. North Springs (11-4) advances to host Appalachee Saturday in the second round. Woodland (12-26-1) has its season come to a close.