The Polk County 2026 FHSAA Girls Volleyball District Tournament is upon us.
And here is a rundown should teams continue to advance, as well as individual Polk teams and their district schedule.
The districts tournaments are today (Monday, Oct. 12) to Friday, Oct. 16, the region quarterfinals are Oct. 20-21; the regional semifinals are Oct. 24; the regional finals are set for Oct. 27-28, and the state championships are geared up for Nov. 2-7 at Polk State College.
But in order to get that far, local teams, of course, start in the quarterfinals.
Dominating the 2020s and representing Class 6A District 8, Winter Haven (21-4) is the No. 1 seed and will have a bye, which means they will play in the semifinals on Tuesday, Oct. 13 against the winner of No. 4 Ridge Community (6-14) and No. 5 Plant City; teams that play tonight (Monday) at 7 p.m.
Winter Haven, the No. 27 team in all of Florida, heads into the tournament winning seven in a row. George Jenkins (11-12) in that same bracket is the No. 2 seed and will also play a first game in the semifinals 7 p.m. Tuesday, as they have a bye as well. The Eagles enter the tournament with a clean slate and are set to play the winner of No. 3 Davenport (20-5) and No. 6 Haines City (8-6); two squads that play 7 p.m. Monday (tonight). Davenport rolls into the tournament having won five of six, while Haines City has been victorious in two of three.
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In the Class 3A District 7 tournament is Mckeel (15-9), which is a No. 2 seed. One of the more talented teams in the area will play Kirkland Ranch 6 p.m. at McKeel tonight (Monday), and if they win, the local unit will play the winner of No. 3 seed Tampa Catholic and No. 6 seed Winthrop College Prep Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 13. McKeel has won five of six.
In the Class 1A District 9 tourney, No. 1 seed All Saints (18-3) and No. 4 seed Victory Christian (6-11) both have byes and will face each other 7 p.m. Tuesday at All Saints. The Saints have won 10 of 11.
Bartow (18-7) had a really good regular season and earned that No. 1 seed in the Class 5A District 8 tourney. They don't play until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bartow when they gear up for the winner of No. 4 seed Lake Gibson (12-11) and No. 5 seed Auburndale (9-9); two teams set to play in the quarterfinals 7 p.m. Monday (tonight). Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Lakeland (8-9) has a bye and won't play until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Lakeland, as this team will face the winner of No. 6 seed Kathleen (4-10) and Sebring; a contest for 6:30 p.m. tonight (Monday). Bartow won nine of 10, Lake Gibson was victorious in three of five, Lakeland outlasted three of four and Kathleen won their last match against Roosevelt.
Mulberry (14-5) finished with a winning season for the first time in a decade and as expected, are the highest seed in the Class 4A District 8 tournament thanks to a No. 3 seed. Having won four out of five, the Panthers are set to face Lake Region (8-15) in the quarterfinals 7:30 p.m. tonight (Monday) at home. In the same bracket is No. 4 seed Lake Wales (4-12); a team that will take on Hillsborough 7:30 p.m. tonight (Monday). If the Highlanders win, they will take on No. 1 seed Brandon 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Mulberry/Lake Region will compete against the winner of No. 2 seed Middleton and No. 7 seed Blake.
Finally in the Class 2A District 6 tournament, Polk's highest seed is Santa Fe (16-9), as the Hawks are the No. 2 seed set to face No. 7 seed Mater Brighton Lakes Academy 6 p.m. tonight (Monday) in Lakeland. If victorious, Santa Fe will face the winner of No. 3 seed Windermere Prep and No. 6 seed New Dimensions. Positioned in the same bracket are No. 4 seed Lakeland Christian (17-8) and Ridgeview Global Studies (12-11), which are two teams scheduled to face each other 6 p.m. tonight (Monday). The winner of these teams will play No. 1 seed Fountain Academy 6 p.m. Tuesday on the road. Santa Fe won six out of seven, Lakeland Christian bested teams four out of five and Ridgeview came out on top two out of three.
All district finals are set for Thursday.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Here is the district schedule for Polk County high school volleyball