Record-setting regular seasons are nice to talk about, but when it comes to tournament play - throw them out the window.

So is the case for the NorthWood and Triton volleyball teams this season. In a season where all seven area volleyball teams are above .500, these two squads seem to stand out from the rest.

And both have had seasons that are among the best in their respective school's history.

The Panthers (25-5) won the Northern Lakes Conference title for the first time in over a decade by gliding through the conference with a perfect 6-0 mark. NorthWood clinched the title with a win over Wawasee last Thursday, but it was a big win a week before against seven-time defending NLC champ Warsaw that put the Panthers on track for the title.

"We accomplished a lot of firsts that we hadn't done in seasons past," NorthWood coach Peg Bough said. "This is a unique team."

Despite the accomplishment, Bough admits that maybe the strive for the NLC title preoccupied NorthWood's mind.

"The highlight of the regular season was winning the NLC," she said. "Which kind of has been a distraction of getting ready for the tournament because that came right up to last Thursday, and we really focused on that. From here on out is when we are really preparing for the tournament."

The Panthers, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, look to be the favorites at the West Noble Sectional.

"We are concentrating now on the mental aspect of getting ourselves prepared for the sectional," Bough said. "The draw was pretty evenly matched. It was the NLC teams against NECC (Div. II) teams. It will be very competitive. The last two weeks have not been a plus for us. We have not been playing our best."

Maybe NorthWood's biggest strength is the ability to come at a team from different players. Jamie Gill leads the Panthers in kills, but four players (Angela Hattery, Natalie Will, Colleen Miller and Amy Zercher) are not far behind in terms of producing offense.

"If we are on blocking, and we get the ball to our hitters that will be a real key," Bough said. "Jamie Gill is our kill leader, but the other four players are very evenly matched. That is a real key for us because it is hard to stop five players on a team."

Like NorthWood, Triton (No. 9 in Class A) is in the midst of a record season with its 25 wins being a school record, breaking the old mark of 24, set last year.

"We have been trying to turn the corner as far as building a winning tradition," Triton coach Gayle Perry said. "I feel like this group has been able to do that. It was started a long time ago in our feeder program. We have been able to build the last four or five years, and that is starting to pay off."

The venture into class sports this season probably benefits Triton as much as any area volleyball team. Even last year when Triton had that outstanding season, the Trojans went into the Plymouth Sectional and got beaten by the host Pilgrims.

Triton won't have that to intimidate them, and a win in the sectional and regional could put the Trojans back at home playing in the Triton Semistate.

"We felt going into the Plymouth Sectional, it was like David and Goliath," Perry said. "I have worked hard to break the kids of that. We have been talking for two years, and we have received so many more opportunities, everything from publicity to respect, that weren't there before. I think the kids feel it is a more realistic goal, and we would like to be playing in our semistate."

Standing in the way of a sectional title will probably eventually be No. 2 (A) Michigan City Marquette.

"Our focus is on Westville right now," Perry said. "I told the kids that our record was great, but that is over. We are all 0-0 when we walk into that gym. It is not who we play, but how we play.

"We could see maybe South Central in the second match, and we are anxiously waiting to see Marquette again," she said. "We played them before and controlled the match, but didn't finish it to win it. I think we have a lot of confidence. Your records and rankings don't matter when you get to the final match, it is who plays the best defense."

Also like NorthWood, Triton relies on a balanced, unselfish squad.

"They have goals, and it really doesn't matter who gets the most kills as long as they get the job done," Perry said. "It is team first."

Three other area schools, Whitko, Manchester and Tippecanoe Valley, are also in the midst of conference winning or school-record setting seasons.

The Squires and Wildcats tied for the Three Rivers Conference title with a 5-2 record while the Vikings were second in the TRC with a 4-3 mark, but set a school record for wins a season with 16 (16-15), six more than the previous best. All 15 losses for the Vikings came against schools with winning records.

The Vikings also got three more individual school records from Rhonda Doud (550 assists), Andria Parker (209 kills) and Brandy Manns (134 blocks).

Area Volleyball Sectionals

At Goshen (Class 4A)

Thursday, Oct. 16

7 p.m. - Elkhart Memorial vs. Elkhart Central

Saturday, Oct. 18

11 a.m. - WARSAW (17-14) vs. Concord

12:30 p.m. - Goshen vs. Memorial/Central winner

7:30 p.m. - Championship

At West Noble (Class 3A)

Thursday, Oct. 16

6 p.m. - Lakeland vs. NORTHWOOD (25-5)

7:30 p.m. - West Noble vs. Northridge

Saturday, Oct. 18

11 a.m. - Angola vs. WAWASEE (17-16)

12:30 p.m. - Lakeland/NorthWood winner vs. West Noble/Northridge winner

7 p.m. - Championship

At Fort Wayne Concordia (Class 3A)

Thursday, Oct. 16

6 p.m. - TIPPECANOE VALLEY (16-15) vs. FW Elmhurst (24-4)

7:30 p.m. - Peru vs. FW Concordia

Saturday, Oct. 18

11 a.m. - Carroll vs. WHITKO

12:30 p.m. - Valley/Elmhurst winner vs. Peru/Concordia winner

7:30 p.m. - Championship

At North Miami (Class 2A)

Thursday, Oct. 16

6 p.m. - Southwood vs. MANCHESTER (18-13)

7:30 p.m. - Northfield vs. Wabash

Saturday, Oct. 18

11 a.m. - North Miami vs. Maconaquah

12:30 p.m. - Southwood/Manchester winner vs. Northfield/Wabash winner

7:30 p.m. - Championship

At Oregon-Davis (Class A)

Thursday, Oct. 16

6 p.m. - Culver vs. Mich. City Marquette

7 p.m. - South Central vs. Oregon-Davis

8 p.m. - Westville vs. TRITON (25-7)

Saturday, Oct. 18

11 a.m. - Argos vs. Culver/Marquette winner

12:30 p.m. - South Central/Oregon-Davis winner vs. Westville/Triton winner

7:30 p.m. - Championship [[In-content Ad]]