McKinney North needed only three sets Thursday to stretch its winning streak to 17 matches, and the Bulldogs will learn Friday night who stands between them and the regional semifinals.
North beat Texarkana Texas High 25-9, 25-11, 25-15 in a Class 5A Division I bi-district match played at Edgewood High School, according to the MaxPreps bracket. The win moved the Bulldogs to 24-6. MaxPreps ranks them 65th in Texas.
Their area-round opponent comes out of Friday's 6 p.m. match at Coppell High School between Frisco Centennial and North Richland Hills Birdville. Centennial won its district at 12-2 and is 28-8 on MaxPreps, while the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's pairings list the Titans at 25-8. Birdville, third in its district, is 23-22.
How the streak was built
The Bulldogs' last loss came Aug. 28, a straight-set defeat against Trophy Club Byron Nelson at a tournament. They won twice the next day, beating Eagle Mountain in five sets and Grapevine in four, and have not lost since.
North went 16-0 in District 9-5A. On its MaxPreps schedule, the only district match that went beyond three sets was a 3-1 win at Lovejoy on Oct. 23. North swept Celina on the road Sept. 29 and swept Lovejoy at home on Sept. 22.
Texas High arrived at 20-19 after finishing third in its own district and reached 15 points only in the final set.
District rival Celina also advanced Thursday, beating Marshall 25-14, 25-11, 25-21 in Division II to improve to 29-11. The Bobcats will face the winner of Friday's Frisco Memorial-Grapevine match.
Boyd and Hebron meet again
The bigger Friday match for McKinney ISD is in Class 6A Division I, where McKinney Boyd faces Carrollton Hebron at 6 p.m. at The Colony High School.
Both programs are nationally ranked by MaxPreps, Hebron at No. 16 and Boyd at No. 34. Hebron is 35-7, won its district at 13-1 and has won eight in a row. Boyd is 28-7 and finished second in its district at 10-2.
They have already met once. Boyd won that one 3-2 at Hebron on Aug. 18.
The winner advances to the area round against Plano East, which swept South Grand Prairie on Thursday and is 30-11.
The calendar
UIL area matches are scheduled for Nov. 2-3, followed by regional semifinals Nov. 5-7 and regional finals Nov. 9-10. The state tournament runs Nov. 19-21 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
North's next match is listed on its MaxPreps schedule for Monday, Nov. 2, with the time, site and opponent to be set after Friday night.
