Middle school playoffs: Polk volleyball at home, boys soccer on road in first round

Polk County Middle School will open defense of its Blue Ridge Middle School Conference volleyball championship on Monday, hosting Bethel Middle in the first round of the Blue Ridge postseason tournament.

The Wolverines (7-5) finished as the second-place team in the conference’s East Division and will face a 5-7 Bethel squad that finished third in the West Division.

The winner of the 4:30 p.m. match will face the winner of the Waynesville-Apple Valley match on Wednesday. Waynesville enters as the top seed from the West Division.

Complete pairings:

Apple Valley (5-7) at Waynesville (8-4)
Bethel (5-7) at Polk County (7-5)
Hendersonville (7-5) at Madison (7-5)
Macon (2-9) at Rugby (12-0)

POLK SOCCER ON ROAD: The Polk Middle boys soccer squad will begin its postseason on the road, traveling to face Rugby on Monday in a Blue Ridge conference first-round match.

Unlike volleyball, the top eight teams from both Blue Ridge divisions are seeded as one group. Polk County (7-4-1) earned the fifth seed and will thus face East Division rival Rugby (6-3-2), who enters as the fourth seed.

Polk Middle won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 4-0, then notched a 1-1 tie in the second meeting.

The winner of the match will meet either Canton or Apple Valley in the second round. Canton enters as the top overall seed with a 10-0 record.

Complete pairings:

Apple Valley (3-7-1) at Canton (10-0)
Polk County (7-4-1) at Rugby (6-3-2)
Waynesville (5-5) at Flat Rock (11-1)
Macon (5-5) at Hendersonville (7-5)