With the 5A girls volleyball playoffs set to start this weekend, the most likely dark horse to make a run is the Northridge Knights — if you can call them a dark horse. Although the team enters the tournament as a four seed, its overall record of 23-7 puts its winning percentage ahead of every team besides Pleasant Grove and the three higher seeds out of Region 1. It's a testament to how competitive volleyball has become in Davis County.

"Our region is definitely one of the tougher regions," coach Shauna Haney said. "It's good preparation for us for the state tournament."

The Knights started the season with 15 straight victories, winning a first-place trophy in the Round Table Rumble, a tournament Northridge hosted. It wasn't until late in the Labor Day Classic at Bingham that they suffered their first loss — against Region 1 rival Fremont. Once region play began, the Knights went 5-5, including a heartbreaking rematch against Fremont in the finale. The match went 3-2, with Northridge coming up short 15-11 in the final game.

"I feel like we had one of our best matches against Fremont," Haney said. "I feel we've gotten better through the season and we're peaking at the right time."

While the regular season can only be described as up and down, the Knights remain a dangerous opponent in the playoffs. With all-state contenders in seniors Allora Tanner and Liz Goodrich, both contributors to last year's playoff team, the Knights have all the components of a title team.

"We were a young team last year and didn't have a lot of experience," Tanner said. "This year we're so much closer. We knew where we had to improve and we've spent the last year working hard and pushing ourselves even more to get back."

The road begins with Brighton, a team that faced its own adversity early with key injuries, but finished the season winning 11 of 12. The Bengals took sixth last year and return a strong front line led by Haylee Wilkes.

"Brighton has had good success in the past in the state tournament," Haney said. "They know how to compete. We're just going to go there and do our best and give it our all against them. We're excited." —

Big Game • Girls volleyball — Davis vs. Jordan, Friday: The Darts begin their quest for a championship with a first round matchup against Jordan. Davis has improved each year Lori Salvo has been at the helm, taking fifth in 2009 and third last year.

Big Number • 3 — Of the eight volleyball teams left in the 5A tournament, three teams remain representing Region 1. Fremont, Northridge and Syracuse all moved on, with Davis falling to Jordan.

Big Player • Football player Hunter Dimick — The Syracuse pass rusher was key in containing the run in the Titans' upset win over Alta. When the Hawks were marching downfield on their final drive, Dimick's sack of Chipper Lucero sealed the victory for Syracuse.