Two area volleyball teams secured playoff wins on Tuesday night, with Caledonia and New Hope both advancing to play on Thursday night in Class 4A and 5A, respectively. 

Caledonia emerged with a second-round home win over West Lauderdale, completing a second straight playoff sweep after defeating Senatobia 3-0 on Saturday. 

“It was a strong performance, I think the best way to describe it is we played well under pressure,” Caledonia head coach Samantha Brooks said. “Especially in the third set, West Lauderdale gave us a fight. We had a reverse sweep against New Hope and I think that was in the back of our minds, so to do well under pressure was big for us, having the mental toughness to close out the third set.”

The Cavaliers (17-18) will face New Albany for a fourth time this season in the next round, losing each of the first three matchups in tournament and non-district play.  

“They’re tough and well coached, we’ve seen them before this year and lost each time,” Brooks said. “We’re looking forward to the good competition and putting it all out there. Mentally we knew this was who we’d potentially be playing, so the girls aren’t surprised. As long as we play our best the game could go either day. It’s two great teams with great athletes and it should be a great match.”

New Hope traveled to Clarksdale, where they swept their hosts 3-0 to secure a spot in the next round against another district rival, Lafayette. 

“I wish we had played a little better, we were great in the first set but didn’t finish as strong, but the important thing is we won so I’ll take it,” head coach Laura Lee Holman said. “They’ve been able to fight through those moments where we weren’t playing well, playing scrappy, and there were moments in the beginning of the year where when a ball was hit between two players they weren’t sure who should take it. Those are things you work through with young teams, that’s probably been our biggest improvement. We’ve still got room to grow but from the first game to now we’ve had to improve.”

The Trojans (20-18) have struggled against Lafayette in recent years and were swept in both meetings this season. The Commodores boast an impressive program record, and this year are led by the 5A Miss Volleyball, Marby Eason. 

It’s been a bogey team for the Trojans for two years now, and the group is keen to get them back for last year’s playoff loss. 

“Lafayette always seems to be the team that knocks New Hope out,” Holman said. “It’s about having the belief that you can win and fight throughout the match. Just from the first time we played to the second, there was improvement. Just because of what’s on their jersey it gives them one up, but the message we’re trying to drive home is anyone can be beaten on a given day. We need to not let Lafayette’s great plays affect us and not make things easy for them.”

Both Starkville and West Lowndes qualified for the playoffs but lost in the first round of their respective classifications. Starkville was swept 3-0 at Lewsiburg and West Lowndes was swept 3-0 at Tupelo Christian Prep.