BIDDEFORD — The preliminary round of the Maine volleyball state championship tournament got an action-packed start Thursday night in Biddeford, as the Tigers swept South Portland 3-0.

South Portland, seeded 14th, put up a good fight against Biddeford, seeded third, playing 25-17, 25-17, and 25-16. The Red Riots excelled at strategic form and execution, as senior Kayla Brown set the ball into a prime arc for Hannah Crozier to tip over the net to cut the Biddeford lead to 22-16. The set ended with a kill from Biddeford’s Grace Boisvert.

The second set saw Biddeford starting off slow and steady to win the race, gently doubling the score of South Portland, 2- 4, 6-3, and 10-5 to maintain a secure lead early on. Both teams demonstrated a great deal of power and enthusiasm but lost points from lack of control by sending the ball out of bounds.

Biddeford demonstrated strong teamwork with a great set up from senior Megan Friel to junior Mia Martel for a sweet kill. The Tigers also boasted strong service, as Lexi Matteau racked up three aces before a timeout was called and another ace later to win the set.

Biddeford racked up a lot of points from kill shots sent whirling across the gym by Kendra Cote. Many shots were of such force that after bouncing off the floor, they would ricochet into the bleachers and barely miss fans or continue to rebound like projectiles.

After the win Cote said, “I try to work with the sets are given to me sometimes but overall I feel pretty good about the performance that we gave. I’ve been playing since the beginning of freshman year so this will be my fourth year playing.”

The game was also charged with strong spikes from South Portland’s junior Molly Mawhinney, racking up three points for the Red Riots in the third set alone and putting in great effort before the last set ended 25-16.

Biddeford’s coach Chantel Tourigny said, “I wish we could’ve played with more intensity to practice for the quarterfinals but I’m proud of the girls and the performance that we gave.”

After this victory the Tigers have one day off before playing Yarmouth Saturday in the quarterfinals at Biddeford. No. 6 Yarmouth swept No. 11 Windham on Thursday to advance.