Seeds set for tournament

After Greenbrier's win at Lakeside on Thursday, the seedings are finally set for the 2006 Area 2-AAAA Volleyball Tournament at Evans High School on Saturday.

Evans, the top seed in the north sub-area, will welcome seven other teams to the tournament. The host team will be the favorite with a No. 10 ranking in the state and a 24-1 overall record.

"Things have changed from last year to this year," Evans senior Katie Roon said. "We know anything can happen."

Last year, Evans went into the area tournament as the top seed but left with a season-ending loss in the tournament semifinals. This year, the Lady Knights are once again on top. However, with four state tournament bids up for grabs instead of the traditional two, the possibility for a Columbia County team to see their season end this weekend isn't as great.

Greenbrier earned the north sub-area's No. 2 seed by one point over Lakeside. The two teams finished the regular season tied with a 3-3 area record and 1-1 in head-to-head area matches. The second tie-breaker came down to points, which gave Greenbrier a 15-14 advantage.

The No. 2 seed means the Lady Wolfpack will face the No. 3 seed from the south sub-area.

"It makes our lives a little bit easier, but you've still got to beat everybody," Greenbrier coach Debbie Born said.

Lakeside will begin the tournament as the No. 3 seed. Although last week's loss to Greenbrier was a setback, Lady Panther senior Carol Skenes said the team has still improved in the second half of the season and has proven itself as a main threat in the area tournament.

The most impressive evidence validating the Lady Panthers' contender status: Lakeside is the only team to defeat Evans this season.

"We aren't going away. That's for sure," Skenes said. "All this region hype can fire you up or burn you. We know we can't just cruise into the region finals, but we're getting stronger."

The Area 2-AAAA Tournament at Evans High School will begin Saturday at noon.