Once the Richmond Senior volleyball team finished second during the Southeastern Conference regular season, it knew it would more than likely face Terry Sanford.

After the Lady Raiders (14-6) defeated Pinecrest Tuesday night, it was etched in stone that Richmond would open the 2009 North Carolina High School Athletic Association volleyball state playoffs against the Lady Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Raider Gymnasium.

Terry Sanford comes into the playoffs with an 11-9 overall record and finished third in the Mid-South Conference.

The winner would face the winner of the Harnett Central-New Bern game. Harnett Central (17-4) is the No. 1 seed out of the Great Neuse River Conference, while New Bern (15-9) is the No. 4 team from the Mideastern Conference.

In addition to Richmond, three other schools received berths into the playoffs this year. Scotland (23-1), which captured the regular season and tournament championships, will face a familiar foe, former Mid-Southeastern Conference member Seventy-First (11-10) who earned the No. 4 seed from the Mid-South.

Pinecrest (11-10), the No. 3 team from the SEC, will open tournament play against Durham’s CE Jordan. The Lady Falcons (13-10) are No. 3 team from the PAC-6.

Purnell Swett (12-10) earned the No. 4 seed out of the SEC and face Morrisville’s Green Hope (16-4) the No. 2 team from the Tri-Nine Conference.

n The Richmond Senior men’s soccer team will open the Southeastern Conference tournament against Scotland in a play-in game at 7 p.m. Monday in Laurinburg.

The Raiders finished fifth in the SEC, while Scotland was fourth. The winner will face Pinecrest, the conference’s regular season champion, on Tuesday in Southern Pines.

Lumberton will travel to Hoke in the other SEC tournament semifinal game.

The winners of Tuesday’s games will face each other at the home of the higher seed on Thursday.