Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School volleyball team finished runner-up at the inaugural Buffalo Stampede Showdown on Saturday in Middleton.

The Buffalo took second in the Gold Bracket of the 16-team event, falling just short of a two-day tournament title by way of a 2-1 defeat to The Rock (Gainesville) inside the Buffalo Sports Complex.

VHS opened the event with a perfect 3-0 mark in pool play, posting best-of-three clean sweeps of South Lake, St. Cloud and Cocoa Beach, respectively. 

That strong start gave the Buffalo the No. 1 seed in the event's top bracket, with VHS opening win-or-go-home play with a 2-0 win over Lake Minneola to advance to the championship match.

But that's where the run ended for the Buffalo, as host VHS fell 25-20, 16-25 and 11-15 to The Rock in the event's finale.

The Villages, which returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Timber Creek, improved to 6-3 overall this season.


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.