Loudoun County, Va. — Heading into the final weeks of regular season play, the same five teams remain in the LoCo Top 5, with a few teams swapping positions. Riverside has maintained the top spot since the start, while Potomac Falls has continued to climb the rankings. The final Potomac District regular season games will take place on October 21 and 23 to determine the standings ahead of the Potomac District tournament, which will start on October 27. The second round of Dulles and Catoctin District regular season games will continue until October 29 and will determine seeding for the VHSL Region 4C tournament beginning November 3. All games have an impact moving forward, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out leading up to the postseason.
Of course, if you’d like to see where teams stack up in each district, you can check out the full district standings here.
1. Riverside –
Following sweeps of John Champe and No. 2 Potomac Falls, the Rams have secured the top spot in the Potomac District and will receive a bye in the quarterfinals of the upcoming district tournament. They will close out the regular season at home against No. 4 Lightridge on October 21 and Freedom on October 23. Their next opponent will be decided during a quarterfinal match between the yet-to-be-determined fourth and fifth seeds in the Potomac District. Regardless of who that is, the Rams are sure to be prepared, as they have plenty of experience with the postseason from the past couple years and will be looking to make another deep run in the district, region, and state tournaments.
2. Potomac Falls +1
Despite a loss to No. 1 Riverside, the Panthers continue to move up the rankings and have earned their No. 2 spot thanks to wins over Potomac District opponents No. 4 Lightridge, Briar Woods, and Stone Bridge, which secured their No. 2 seed for the Potomac District tournament. The Panthers finish the regular season on the road with a non-conference contest at Rock Ridge on October 21 and a final district game at John Champe on October 23. After a breakout season last year in which Potomac Falls made it to the VHSL Region 5D semifinal match before losing to eventual state champion No. 1 Riverside, the Panthers will no doubt be hungry for more success and will look to make it even further this year.
3. Loudoun County -1
The Captains had to fight off two match points in the fourth set of a marathon match against No. 5 Dominion, but ultimately got the win in five. Tough games against Heritage and Broad Run also pushed Loudoun County to extra sets, but the Captains continued their win streak with a sweep of Woodgrove. Up next, Catoctin District play continues with games against Park View on October 21 and October 29 and rematches against Broad Run on October 23 and Woodgrove on October 27. The Captains currently hold the top spot in the Catoctin District, but with such a small district of only four teams, nothing is guaranteed and things can change quickly in only a short amount of time.
4. Lightridge +1
Three straight wins against Potomac District opponents Freedom, Briar Woods, and Stone Bridge following a 4-set loss to No. 2 Potomac Falls moves Lightridge into the No. 4 position. The Lightning have earned the No. 3 seed for the Potomac District tournament and will end the regular season with a game on the road at No. 1 Riverside on October 21 and one at home against Loudoun Valley on October 23. Their first opponent in the tournament will likely be decided by the October 21 matchup between John Champe and Stone Bridge. Either way, the Lightning have been on fire lately and will be looking to make waves this postseason.
5. Dominion -1
A tough couple weeks found the Titans playing three 5-set matches. After nearly beating No. 3 Loudoun County in the fourth set, Dominion fell in five to the Captains on October 7 and then also lost a 5-setter to James Madison the following night. The Titans traveled to Heritage on Dig Pink night and held on to win in five to claim sole possession of the top spot in the Dulles District. With their final Dulles District games at home against Tuscarora on October 21, Rock Ridge on October 23, and Loudoun Valley on October 27, Dominion will look to remain at the top and set themselves up for success in the Region 4C tournament.