The Smithtown East girls volleyball team is one match from a county championship. The Bulls, the top seed in Suffolk's Class AA bracket, advanced past fourth-seeded Northport in Wednesday's semifinal at home, according to Section XI's playoff bracket, and will play for the title on Monday, November 2.

The championship match is set for 4 p.m. at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, the site Section XI uses for its volleyball finals. Standing between the Bulls and the trophy: second-seeded Half Hollow Hills West of Dix Hills, which came through the other semifinal against third-seeded Hauppauge.

A season without a loss, so far

Smithtown East arrived in the playoffs without dropping a match all season. The Bulls went 15-0 overall and 14-0 in League III, winning the league championship outright and taking 45 sets against nine in league play, according to Section XI's standings. The perfect record earned them the bracket's top seed, a bye through the quarterfinal round and home court for Wednesday's semifinal.

Northport, the League III rival that finished three matches behind the Bulls in the standings, was the semifinal opponent, and the bracket now shows Smithtown East through to the final.

The opponent: Hills West

Half Hollow Hills West earned its place from the two seed, beating seventh-seeded Newfield in the quarterfinals and then taking the semifinal round against Hauppauge, per the bracket. Monday's meeting puts the bracket's two highest seeds on the same floor with the county title on the line.

The winner moves on in the state tournament path for Class AA, where Suffolk's champion faces Nassau's on the road to the state championships later in November.

Going to the match

The final is Monday, November 2 at 4 p.m. at Suffolk County Community College's Brentwood campus. Admission is charged at Section XI playoff matches, and tickets are sold through GoFan, the section's online ticketing platform, under NYSPHSAA Section XI. For a team that has not lost since the season began, Monday is the last step left in the county, and the stands in Brentwood are where Smithtown gets to watch it.

Sources