FCIAC Volleyball Playoffs: Six teams in, three alive for two spots heading into final day

With just one day remaining in the regular season, two spots remain open in the FCIAC volleyball tournament, with Westhill, Stamford and New Canaan all still looking to clinch a spot.

Current seeds with Friday’s match-ups. The top six have clinched playoff bids.

1 – St. Joseph (15-0); Clinched No. 1 seed; Friday at Staples

2 – Greenwich (14-2); Clinched No. 2 seed; Season completed

3 – Ridgefield (13-2); Clinched No. 3 seed; Friday home vs. Warde

4 – Danbury (11-4); Friday home vs. Trumbull

5 – Trumbull (10-5); Friday at Danbury

6 – Staples (10-5); Friday home vs. St. Joseph

7 – Westhill (9-6); Friday at New Canaan

8 – Stamford (8-7); Friday home vs. Trinity

9 – New Canaan (8-7); Friday home vs. Westhill

St. Joseph, Greenwich and Ridgefield are locked into their spots as the top three seeds. Ridgefield cannot pass Greenwich, as Greenwich owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Danbury can secure the No. 4 seed and a quarterfinal home game with a win over Trumbull on Friday. If Trumbull wins, the Eagles would jump to No. 4 with Danbury at No. 5, and the two teams would then meet again in the quarterfinals.

Staples is currently the No. 6 seed. The Wreckers can only move up if they beat St. Joseph and Trumbull loses to Danbury. Otherwise, the Wreckers are No. 6 and will play at No. 3 Ridgefield on Monday.

The Final Two Seeds

The biggest match on Friday will be at New Canaan High School as the Rams host the Westhill Vikings at 5:30 p.m. The winner will be in the tournament, while the loser is likely headed home.

Westhill is currently 9-6 in the FCIAC, while both Stamford and New Canaan are 8-7, with Stamford in eighth place based on its 3-0 win over the Rams on Sept. 27.

Stamford, the defending FCIAC and Class LL champion, will host Trinity Catholic on Friday and can clinch a conference playoff bid with a victory.

The three Westhill-New Canaan-Stamford scenarios

1 – Westhill defeats New Canaan

Result: Westhill is No. 7; Stamford is No. 8; New Canaan is out

Westhill is in with a victory, as the Vikings would be 10-6 and finish seventh. The Vikings cannot move up even if they tie Trumbull or Staples as they lost to both those teams. Stamford would clinch eighth place regardless of the outcome of its game.

2 – New Canaan defeats Westhill; Stamford defeats Trinity

Result: Stamford is No. 7; New Canaan is No. 8; Westhill is out

This would create a three-way tie at 9-7 involving New Canaan, Westhill and Stamford. Head-to-head, the three teams would all be 1-1 against each other, so the tiebreakers move to the quality win criteria.

Stamford has the upper hand there based on its win over Danbury on Oct. 11, and would take the No. 7 seed. New Canaan would then be No. 8 based on its win over Westhill, and Westhill would be out.

3 – New Canaan defeats Westhill; Stamford loses to Trinity

Result: New Canaan is No. 7; Westhill is No. 8; Stamford is out

In this case, Stamford’s loss would knock it down to 8-8, with both New Canaan and Westhill finishing 9-7. New Canaan would get the higher seed based on its win over Westhill, and Westhill would be No. 8.

Playoff Schedule

The FCIAC quarterfinals will be played on Monday, Oct. 30, on the home courts of the top four seeds. The semifinals will be Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Ludlowe High School; and the final will be 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4, at Ludlowe.

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