Panthers, Scots Earn Top Playoff Seeds
Hillcrest hasn’t lost a volleyball match in two months, and it hopes that momentum will carry over to the Class 5A Division II playoffs.
After an undefeated run through District 13-5A during the regular season, the top-seeded Panthers (25-8) will face Woodrow Wilson in their postseason opener on Tuesday at Skyline High School.
In its first season under head coach Kinsey Palmer, Hillcrest has won 16 consecutive matches, all of which have come in three or four sets. The district title is the program’s first since 2019.
The Panthers will aim for their third consecutive bi-district playoff victory after defeating West Mesquite in 2022 and Bryan Adams last year.
In Class 5A Division I, Highland Park rode a late-season surge to a share of the District 12-5A championship, finishing in a tie with Frisco Wakeland atop the standings.
The Lady Scots (30-9), who claimed the league’s top seed via a tiebreaker, will face Frisco in the opening round of the playoffs on Tuesday at Lovejoy.
HP reached the 30-win plateau with a sweep of Frisco Reedy on Oct. 29 in the regular-season finale. The Lady Scots will carry a 10-match winning streak into a warmup match at Wylie on Friday.
Meanwhile, W.T. White is the No. 2 seed from 13-5A as the runner-up behind Hillcrest. The Longhorns (15-10) will seek revenge against West Mesquite in their playoff opener on Tuesday at Conrad High School, in a rematch of a bi-district clash from a year ago.
