Bishop Verot senior Stephanie Manone (8) blocks a shot by Clearwater Central Catholic’s Mary Michael Toups (4) at the net. Beside Manone is teammate Sarah Toggweiler. More photos from Wednesday’s Region 3A-3 quarterfinal match are available online at: cu.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com. MICHAEL PISTELLA

After only a few weeks of volleyball practice back in the summer, Class 3A state powers Bishop Verot and Tampa Berkeley Prep faced each other in a preseason match.

It didn’t go as well as Verot coach Wynn DePasquale would have liked, but it gave her Vikings a better sense of what they would be up against if the teams met again in the postseason.

That time has come. The host Vikings (22-0) remained unbeaten Tuesday night with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-15 victory over Clearwater Central Catholic (18-9) in a Region 3A-3 quarterfinals match at Verot. The win sets up a regional semifinal clash with Berkeley Prep next Tuesday.

The programs have history, mostly bad for Verot. They lost to Berkeley Prep in the regional finals in 2005 and 2006.

“We played them in the preseason and they actually got us pretty good,” DePasquale said. “We had about five weeks of open gym or so and didn’t have our offensive system or a lot of things in place. Now they’re definitely in place.”

MICHAEL PISTELLA Bishop Verot junior Christa Brooks (4) spikes the ball during the Vikings win Wednesday night. More photos from the game are available online at: cu.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com.

Indeed. The Vikings have been downright impressive in winning their first 22 matches. None reached a fifth game.

Though the program has produced 12 consecutive regional berths, this year’s team is on a quest to reach the state semifinals for the first time since back-to-backs in 2002-03. The Vikings captured one state title in 1984.

The Vikings received a good test Tuesday against scrappy Clearwater Central Catholic, but proved to be the superior team. Their defense excelled, setting up more opportunities for their talented frontcourt players.

Up front, sophomore Sarah Toggweiler sparked the effort with 12 kills, and junior Christa Brooks had eight kills. Defensive standouts included junior Katie Clinger (13 assists), junior Katie Mosher (12 digs) and junior Ciara Brown (12 assists).

“Overall, they moved the ball around well,” DePasquale said. “Toggweiler lit up the gym. It’s nice to find different parts of the offense.”

The Vikings led throughout game one, but did not serve consistently. That helped the Marauders keep close, within four points for most of the game.

With the Vikings clinging to a 13-12 lead, Brooks scored one point on a shot that just caught the line and came back with a kill, pushing the lead to 16-12. She had five of her eight kills in that game to go with two blocks.

Game two was the most competitive, featuring seven ties. At 15-15, the Vikings picked up their execution and closed it out with a 10-6 run.

Stephanie Manone and Christine Dearden had consecutive blocks to start the spurt and it ended with a kill by Toggweiler.

The Vikings took command early in game three, using strong defense and powerful play at the net to seal it.

Boys Soccer

At Kelly Road: Mariner finished its preseason scrimmages Wednesday with a pair of 2-0 decisions.

Tyler Korytkowski and Cristian Marin scored goals against Riverdale with Juan Rincon and Korytkowski earning assists. Matt Brust made six saves defending the goal.

Korytkowski and Travis Edward notched goals against Lehigh with Rincon and Julio Perez earning assists. Renato Proia had two saves in goal.

The Tritons head to Fort Myers Monday for the regular-season opener.

Ida Baker also earned a pair of 45-minute scrimmage wins.

Nick Presti had the Bulldogs’ lone goal in a 1-0 decision over South Fort Myers. Daniel Sharkey, Joe Johnson and Steven Villa connected in a 3-1 decision over Cypress Lake.

Jose Zuniga tended goal for the Bulldogs, but was largely untested.

The Bulldogs open the regular season at home Wednesday with a district match against Barron Collier.

Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.