McKinney's two remaining volleyball teams start their postseason on back-to-back nights, one as a heavy favorite on paper and the other against one of the state's top-ranked programs.
North vs. Texarkana Texas High
McKinney North (23-6) went 16-0 in District 9-5A and has won 16 straight, according to MaxPreps. The Bulldogs play Texarkana Texas High at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Class 5A Division I.
Star Local Media's playoff schedule lists the match at Edgewood High School. MaxPreps lists it as a Texas High home match.
Texas High is 20-18 and finished third in its district at 8-4. North won 48 of 50 sets in district play, and 14 of its 16 league matches were sweeps, including both against runner-up Celina. The only league matches that went past three sets were the opener at Anna on Aug. 18 and the finale, a four-set win at Lovejoy on Oct. 23.
The Bulldogs have been unbeaten since Aug. 29, when they beat Eagle Mountain and Grapevine at a tournament. All six of their losses date to August: Westlake, Alamo Heights, Keller, Episcopal and Byron Nelson beat them in tournament play, and Frisco Liberty won in five sets on opening night. Overall, North has won 69 sets and dropped 23.
Celina, which finished second to North in 9-5A, is in Division II and opens Thursday against Marshall at 6:30 p.m. in Athens. Third-place Lovejoy plays Whitehouse at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Mabank.
Boyd vs. Hebron
McKinney Boyd has the harder assignment. The Broncos (28-7) face Carrollton Hebron at 6 p.m. Friday at The Colony High School in 6A Division I.
Hebron is 35-7, won District 5-6A at 13-1 ahead of Flower Mound and Frisco Wakeland, and is ranked No. 4 in Texas and No. 16 nationally by MaxPreps.
Boyd has already beaten the Hawks once. The Broncos won 3-2 at Hebron on Aug. 18, MaxPreps shows, part of a nondistrict schedule that also included Southlake Carroll, Keller and Coppell.
Boyd's 10-2 league record was second in 6-6A. Allen, which went 12-0, beat the Broncos twice and dropped only one set in district play, to Boyd on Sept. 25. Boyd also owns a straight-sets win over Allen from an Aug. 15 tournament, and eight of its 10 district wins were sweeps.
Across the season the Broncos have won 77 sets and lost 28. Allen opens against Flower Mound on Thursday at 6 p.m., also at The Colony.
