Tompkins knew that Tuesday night would be a test.

The Falcons were well aware that George Ranch was no ordinary first round team that they would usually face. With the new format of split divisions in the playoffs and a good opponent on the other side the team knew they would have to bring their best game.

Tompkins came out and brought everything it had from the start to the finish of its bi-district round matchup and that effort paid dividends, as the Falcons came out on top with a sweep, beating George Ranch in three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) in the opening round of the playoffs to kick off their playoff run on the right note.

“it didn’t matter if it was a sweep, if it was five sets, I just knew we had to find a way to win tonight and I’m proud of the girls for doing that,” said Tompkins head coach Allison Merrell. “We knew this was tougher competition and that we had to be at our very best tonight. But that’s what we want and that’s what is going to prepare us for the next rounds as well is what we went through tonight.”

The Falcons came out strong in the first set and went up early, but George Ranch tied the game at 12 before the Falcons took control again and pulled away. The second set was much the same, with the Falcons gaining an early edge before the Longhorns trimmed the lead midway through before Tompkins took the lead and pulled away again.

“This is what we’ve been working for and I think you could see our practice show tonight in big moments,” said Caelyn Dumas, a senior setter and outside hitter. “We knew we were in for a fight today so to get a sweep was huge. We thought this might go four or even five sets so when we had a chance to put this away we seized the opportunity every time.”

The third set was where things got the trickiest for the Falcons. Tompkins went up 10-5 and had an advantage, but every time they would gain distance George Ranch would fight back with the Longhorns season on the line. Tompkins lead was trimmed to 14-13, then to 17-16 and then George Ranch tied it 17 all. But in the biggest moments Tompkins again came up clutch, scoring eight of the final 11 point of the match to clinch the sweep.

“I just old the girls to breathe,” Merrell said. “The girls just needed to take a breath and execute when they had the opportunity. We knew George Ranch was going to come out and take big swings and they did that. Our job was just to control the moments that we could control, and I think down the stretch and in the big moments that’s what we were able to do.”

Freshman outside hitter Elsa St. Rose led the way in the kill column for Tompkins with 12, while Christin Cowart had nine and Callie Funk had six. St. Rose added three aces and 11 digs, leading Tompkins in all three categories, while Dumas had 16 assists and both Natalie Kitts and Simi Elliot had two blocks.

Tompkins will face a dominant Stratford team in the second round of the playoffs that has only lost twice all year and has won 17 straight games. The two teams faced off earlier in the year, with Stratford winning that matchup in non-district play 3-0. The Falcons knows they will need to be at its best again in the matchup, and they are confident they have what it takes to give themselves a strong chance of winning.

“Film is going to be really important and we have to prepare as well as we have all year,” said senior libero Brooklynn Merrell. “We just have to go out and play the way we need to play. However it goes, if we do that we can be proud of ourselves.”