The Section volleyball playoffs began Wednesday night on a winning note for both Littlefork-Big Falls and International Falls.

In the Section 7A Tournament match at Littlefork, No. 3-seeded L-BF defeated No. 6-seeded Cherry in four games, 13-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-18.

"I thought we got progressively better as the night went on," said Vikings head coach Sarah Bradley. "I think we came out a little slow, which maybe is just because we had (more than a week) in between games and it can be kind of hard to come out with that intensity right off the bat."

DyAna Imhof led the Vikings with 19 kills, while Abby Thompson added 10 kills. Other statistical leaders for L-BF included Emily Knaeble with 24 digs and Karly Swenson with three ace serves.

The Vikings advanced to the quarterfinals held Friday night in Virginia, where they lost to No. 2-seeded Chisholm in five games, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 15-25, 9-15.

L-BF ended the season with an overall record of 17-9. The Bluestreaks advanced to next Wednesday's semifinals in Deer River to race Carlton.

I. Falls 3, Virginia 1

The No. 5-seeded Broncos opened the Section 7AA Tournament by winning in four games at No. 4-seeded Virginia, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-13.

"It felt great to win, but more importantly it was amazing to see our team come together and play with some authority and confidence," said International Falls head coach Erin Shikowsky. "Two of our goals were to recover quickly from our mistakes and run our offense. We did those two things well and it paid off. 

"The entire team added intensity and positive emotion...we finally had some fun out there."

Tessa Walls led the Broncos with 12 kills and two ace blocks. McKenna Rasmussen added 11 kills, two ace blocks and 12 digs. Hailey Fentem had nine kills, two ace blocks and eight digs. Maddie Filipiak also had nine kills with three ace blocks.

The team's other statistical leaders included: Teagan Anderson, 39 set assists, nine digs, three ace serves; and Lauren Rautio, 23 digs, two ace serves.

International Falls advanced to face No. 1-seeded Hermantown in the quarterfinals on Friday night in Proctor, where the Broncos lost in three straight games, 17-25, 23-25, 19-25.