WILMINGTON — Green Hope High’s impressive run in the NCHSAA 4-A Volleyball Tournament ran up against a buzzsaw attack at Wilmington Hoggard High on Saturday night.

The Falcons lost in a 25-12, 25-23, 25-18 quarterfinal-round sweep and ended the season with a 16-7 record. Hoggard (31-2) advanced to Tuesday night’s Eastern Regional final at Roxboro Person High.

After dropping the first game to Hoggard, Green Hope refocused and bolted to an early 4-0 Game 2 lead behind two kills from senior Aaryn Harrison.

The Falcons led 9-4 before the Vikings began a slow comeback and eventually reeled off the final four points to turn back Green Hope’s bid to draw the match even. Harrison led Green Hope with seven kills.

Hoggard set the tone for the match in the first game, using stiff blocks at the net and several digs along the back line to keep the Falcons’ offense off balance. The Vikings won eight of the last 11 points to pull away.

Hoggard setter Kathleen Gates distributed 11 assists to five different hitters in the opening game and finished with 29 assists overall. Kim Friedl contributed six kills, five aces and five digs.

After a stinging kill in the middle of Game 3, Friedl nailed three consecutive aces to stretch a 10-7 Hoggard lead to 13-7.

Hoggard coach Ron Strickland was pleased with his team’s defensive effort, most notably in Game 1.

“They were scrappy at picking balls up and doing what they’re supposed to do,” he said. “They really relaxed in the second game, which we had a couple of words about, maybe five or six words about. You’ve got to play the games one at a time.”

Green Hope’s second straight trip to the Eastern Regional semifinals was not without some travel. In the span of a week, the Falcons, the Tri-Eight Conference’s No. 4 seed, made two trips to Fayetteville and two to Wilmington, logging 936 miles. Along the way, Green Hope knocked off a pair of conference No. 1 seeds — Fayetteville’s Sanford High and Britt High — along with Wilmington Ashley High, which was a No. 3 conference seed.

“It was a wonderful season,” said Green Hope coach George Tsai, whose Falcons also made their sixth straight postseason trip. “Our girls are young, but they fought every game as much as possible. They come prepared.

“We’re really happy to get into the Elite Eight.”

Tsai said his roster is loaded with key freshmen and sophomores, suggesting a bright future for the program. Tsai’s main rotation featured one freshman and four sophomores to go along with four upperclassmen.

Senior Dana Senko, a co-captain with Harrison who led the team in kills and digs, has been part of four playoff runs and closed out her final season with another deep trip into the playoffs.

“I am so proud of my team,” Senko said. “I could not have asked for more effort. We came in on all four of the games we played as underdogs.”