Despite entering the postseason with a sub .500 record and as an underdog in the opening round of the District 14 tournament, South Warren volleyball coach Justin Griffin felt good about his team’s chances – believing his squad was truly playing its best volleyball of the season.

Two weeks and a Region 4 title later, those beliefs have come to fruition – with South Warren set to face Letcher County Central in the opening round of the KHSAA state volleyball tournament at 8:30 a.m. CDT Friday at Valley High School in Louisville.

South Warren’s third trip to the state tournament in the last four years may be the program’s most unlikely, but it doesn’t diminish the excitement and expectations heading up to Louisville this weekend.

“Obviously we’ve had some bumps along the way this season, but our ultimate goal was to play our best at the end,” Griffin said. “Luckily for us we started playing our best over the course of the last two or three weeks. We were able to get to the region tournament. Then when you are there, anything can happen. Just being able to step it up and play as well as we did was certainly a big bonus for us.”

South Warren (21-19) began the postseason beating Bowling Green, a team it lost to twice in the regular season, in straight sets to earn a trip back to the region tournament. While the Spartans lost for a third time this season to Greenwood in the District 14 finals, they came back to beat Allen County-Scottsville and Franklin-Simpson in the region tournament to set up an epic five-set victory over the Lady Gators in the region championship game.

“I think going in a lot of people maybe didn’t expect us to do what we did,” senior defensive specialist Mary Pitts said. “It was (a) good thing knowing we could go out and play and win the important games.”

Griffin credited the run with a tough schedule that tested his team throughout the season. That included playing McCracken County and Central Hardin – two top-20 teams who are also in the state tournament field – the final weekend of the regular season. While South Warren lost both of those games, Griffin said he could see the team was starting to play its best volleyball.

“We just continued to get better the last couple of weeks and I think that really showed up in the region championship game,” Griffin said.

Now South Warren finds itself with the same opening-round opponent it faced in its last state tournament appearance in 2015. Letcher County Central (22-9) swept Hazard in the Region 14 championship game with a roster that includes four seniors and 11 juniors. Seven players that appeared for Letcher County in the 2015 game are still on the roster this season, with Hannah Yonts the lone South Warren player remaining who saw action in that game – a 3-0 victory by the Spartans.

“Making the state tournament, you are obviously going to play a good team,” Griffin said. “We have to be ready. We expect a competitive match no matter who we play up there. Hopefully, we can take care of our side and just enjoy the experience while we are up there.”

A win over Letcher County Central would set up a second-round match with either No. 12 Paul Laurence Dunbar or Rowan County, with No. 2 Mercy likely waiting in a potential semifinal matchup. South Warren has won its previous two first-round games, but is still looking for its first quarterfinal victory in program history.

With the run the Spartans are on, Griffin said he is hopeful his team can make a deep run in this weekend’s tournament.

“We are just going to try to take it one game at a time up there, but I feel like our kids are playing pretty confident,” Griffin said. “Hopefully that carries over to this weekend to where we go up there and focus on every play and do whatever we can to fight and keep battling. Hopefully we can be lucky enough to make it to a semifinal game.

“We’re just super excited to get the opportunity to go back up there. I know quite a few of our players haven’t had the opportunity to experience going up there. It will be a lot of fun for them. We are just looking forward for them to experience the state tournament.”

It’s an experience the players are ready to savor.

“I think we want to go up there and have fun, but take every game seriously,” senior defensive specialist Makenzie Allen said. “The farther we go, the better.”{&end}