Holly Springs swept Apex Friendship during the regular season, winning one match in three sets and a second in five sets, but the Patriots got the win that meant the most.

(17) Apex Friendship went on the road and defeated (16) Holly Springs in four sets on Tuesday night, advancing out of the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state playoffs. The Patriots claimed the 3-1 win with scores of 25-11, 21-25, 25-15, and 25-19.

The match featured two teams from the impressive Southwest Wake Athletic Conference, a league that managed to get all eight teams into the state playoffs.

After winning the first set convincingly 25-11, Apex Friendship dropped the second set 25-21. Holly Springs evened the match at 1-1, but Apex Friendship reasserted itself in the third set, leading by as many as 10 points at four different times. The Patriots took a 2-1 lead with a 25-15 win in the third set.

Apex Friendship didn’t get out to a double-digit lead in the decisive fourth set, but the Patriots led most of the way en route to a 25-19 win to end the match.

Apex Friendship (11-8) will advance to Thursday’s second round of the playoffs when it travels to top-seed Chapel Hill. The Tigers swept (32) Cary in the first round and hold a 25-1 overall record.

Holly Springs, which finished fourth in the SWAC, finishes the season with a 16-7 overall record.

Source: highschoolot.com