The Meridian High School girls’ volleyball team achieved a major playoff milestone on Monday night, and on Thursday they went one step further, beating the Dragons of William Monroe in four sets to reach the Regional Finals.

The breakout campaign continued for Milena Racic’s Mustangs, who went 9-18, 10-13, and 13-11 during her first three seasons as head coach. In Year 4, they finished the regular season 15-6, earning the No. 2 seed in the Regional playoffs, and in Monday’s three-set victory over Brentsville, they earned their first postseason win since 2020. That was also the last year they qualified for the State Tournament.

It would take Meridian’s best effort against a quality Monroe group, but the Mustangs were up to the task. In the first set, the home team convincingly won 25-13. In the second, they jumped out to a 14-1 lead before holding off a furious rally by the Dragons, who crawled within 20-17 before Meridian pulled away to win 25-18.

Monroe took the third, putting together a late comeback to win 25-21 after Meridian was ahead 20-16. But the Mustangs came out on top in the end, dominating the fourth set with another 25-13 victory to seal the deal. They’ll advance to play at Kettle Run in the Regional Finals next Monday, and more importantly, they will compete in States.

Racic acknowledged the magnitude of the win, but also made it a point to mention the Mustangs are taking things one game at a time. “We know we have to prepare for some much tougher opponents than we’ve faced most of the season, and every test gets harder.”

Meridian’s 17 wins this season are the most the program has achieved since 2012, and there’s still an opportunity to add more. If the Mustangs can defeat Kettle Run for the Regional title, they’ll earn a home game to begin their quest for a State championship.