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By ALLEN SEYBERT

aseybert@timesobserver.com

MEADVILLE - The playoffs came down to a playoff.

Warren finished in a three-way tie for first-place at 2-1 with Fort LeBoeuf and Wilmington in their pool Thursday at the District 10 Class AA volleyball playoffs at Meadville High School. The Bisons were awarded the top spot by District 10 officials, and with only the top two teams advancing to Saturday's semifinals, the Dragons were forced to play a one-game playoff with Wilmington.

Warren got down 14-4 early and rallied to tie the match at 16-16 before ultimately watching its season come to a close with a 25-18 loss.

"It's a tough way to end things," said Warren coach Mike Dolan. "I'm just so proud of this group of girls. They really worked hard in the offseason and all of these seniors were great leaders. They are going to be a tough group to replace. They never gave up. Even when we were down big in that last match, we battled back."

Warren opened pool play Thursday with a 25-19, 25-18 loss to Fort LeBoeuf. Prior to the night's final match with Wilmington, Warren beat the Greyhounds in pool play, 25-22, 25-17. The loss was the first of Wilmington's season.

To stay alive, the Dragons needed to first get past region rival Titusville who the Dragons dispatched for the third time this season, 25-11, 18-25, 25-15. With Titusville eliminated at 0-3, that left the pool's other three teams deadlocked at 2-1 with only two spots advancing.

After discussion, District 10 officials ultimately decided that LeBoeuf had earned the tournament's top seed and that the second spot would be determined in a one-game playoff that was ultimately won by Wilmington. Despite winning two of three games from the Greyhounds on Thursday, Warren will sit out Saturday's semifinals while Wilmington moves on.

According to the District 10 website, the tiebreaker for determing a first-place team when three teams are tied with identical 2-1 records after pool play is "the team with the best winning percentage of games involving the three tied teams (divide number of games won by number of games played) shall be declared the first-place team from that pool."

Tiffanie Liu had 27 kills and Tessa Rehe added 22 to pace the Dragons' effort. Emily Lobdell added 20 kills and 55 assists and Anna Williams chipped in 29 digs.