To Central volleyball coach Wes Lyon, there is no doubt his team earned its sectional championship.
The Class 3A No. 5 Bearcats won three matches in three days to win the Delta Sectional. The stretch included victories against two top-10 teams, No. 3 Delta and No. 10 Wapahani.
“Any time you’re in Delaware County (and) have to go through two teams, it’s an accomplishment,” Lyon said Saturday after the title win. “I tip my hat to our team, because they fought against a great Delta team and came back against a great Wapahani team. And to win two like that, it says you won the sectional.”
Central’s path also included a sweep of Blackford in the semifinals, a match in which the Bearcats didn’t allow the Bruins to score more than 10 points in any set.
With its first sectional title in four years in hand, Central will play its first regional match in four years Tuesday. It will host Bellmont at 7 p.m. in Muncie Fieldhouse.
In order to advance to the semistate round, Central will need to turn in another top-10 victory, with Bellmont ranked No. 7 in the Class 3A poll.
The Bearcats are one of four teams from Delaware County that have advanced to the regional round, and one of two such teams that will host matches, which is decided by an IHSAA alternating system.
Burris will host Alexandria in a Class 2A regional match at Ball Gym. The Owls advanced to the regional stage by defeating Shenandoah in the championship match of the Winchester Sectional.
Like their in-city counterparts, the Owls will also face a top-10 team in their regional match. Alexandria is ranked second in Class 2A. Burris is unranked.
Like Burris, Class 4A No. 8 Yorktown also faces a stiff challenge in regionals. It will play at No. 1 Cathedral. The Tigers defeated Mt. Vernon in the championship of the Greenfield-Central Sectional.
Class A No. 1 Wes-Del is the fourth Delaware County team remaining in the tournament. It will travel to face unranked Seton Catholic. Wes-Del won the Cowan Sectional with a championship-match victory against Liberty Christian.
Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.
IHSAA Volleyball
Regionals: All matches at 7 p.m. Tuesday
Class 4A
• Yorktown at Cathedral
Class 3A
• Bellmont at Central
Class 2A
• Alexandria at Burris
Class A
• Wes-Del at Seton Catholic