In this week’s Notebook, we write about the gritty and we write about the nitty. Because with just eight teams still alive in each of the five statewide divisions, we are absolutely getting down to the nitty-gritty.
Section stuff
When we last left you last Friday, there were Section titles to be determined in eight of the state’s 10 sections. Let’s take a look at what happened:
San Diego Section
Cathedral Catholic knocked off Torrey Pines to win its third straight Open Division title. Torrey Pines rallied from a two-set deficit to force a fifth and deciding set, but the Dons dominated the last, 15-4, and won on an ace serve from Ayva Moi. Jenna Hanes was a force in the fifth set for Cathedral Catholic. Finn Krystkowiak had 21 kills to lead Torrey Pines.
***
Francis Parker swept El Capitan of Lakeside in Div. I to capture its first section title in 11 years and, in the process, avenged a season-opening loss to the Vaqueros.
***
Our Lady of Peace overcame 31 kills from Nicole Patton and 67 assists from Calista Lowery to defeat Pacific Ridge for the Div. II title. Pacific Ridge won the first two sets and the third went deep into overtime, finishing 35-33 in OLP’s favor. The Pilots won Games 4 and 5 more handily to complete the reverse sweep and win their first-ever section crown. Zoe Pabarcus had the title-clinching kill for the victors.
***
Mission Hills, Oceanside, Southwest EC, and Calipatria also won titles.
Brooklyn Carter had 11 kills for Mission Hills in the Div. III final. Mission Hills entered the playoffs just one win above .500 on the season.
Oceanside defeated a league rival to capture its first section title in Div. IV. The Pirates served 13 aces and got a dozen kills from senior outside hitter Mikayla Poumele-Flores.
Southwest El Centro got a big game in the middle from Valarie Salazar in capturing its first volleyball title in Div. V.
Calipatria won the Div. V-AA title, with Samantha Vega, a difference maker.
Southern Section
State No. 1 Mater Dei won its first section title since 2018 by downing No. 2 Mira Costa in three sets. The Monarchs are now 2-0 this year versus the Mustangs. A huge block – Mater Dei had 12, seven by freshman middle Emma Kingston – and a double-double from Izzy Clark (18 kills; 12 digs) were driving factors in the win. Libero Malyssa Cawa served an ace on match point to clinch victory.
***
JSerra downed league rival Orange Lutheran to win the Div. 1 title, its first section title ever in volleyball. Senior outside hitter Tatum Johnson had 10 kills and senior defender Payton Mossbarger had 19 digs for the Lions.
***
Beckman won a four-set showdown between state-ranked teams by knocking off Campbell Hall in four sets. The Patriots got 32 digs from libero Stacy Reeves and senior outside hitters Camryn Hayek and Nika Safavi combined for 35 kills.
***
Mikenna Henjum had 14 kills. 24 digs and four aces to help Capo Valley Christian sweep by El Dorado for the Div. 4 title.
***
Rancho Christian kept it close in Div. 5, but Temple City was able to capture its first title in more than two decades behind 40 kills, six aces, and three solo stuff blocks from senior OH Taylor Yu. Jocelyn Hou added 34 assists. Savannah Thomas had 22 kills in the loss.
***
Glendale, California Academy of Math & Science, Temecula Prep, and Moreno Valley also won titles.
Glendale kept a long, long winning streak intact by sweeping Moorpark in Div. 6. The Nitros started the season 0-3, but last lost in mid-September. The win over Moorpark was their 22nd in a row.
CAMS won its first title by defeating a Wildwood team it had twice lost to during the regular season.
Los Angeles Section
El Camino Real captured its second title all time and first since 2015 by downing crosstown foe Taft in four sets. Senior Claire Grasteit delivered the winning swing for ECR.
***
Marshall, sparked by 13 kills from junior Clover Kirchner, won the Div. I title over Verdugo Hills. Marshall finished second a year ago.
***
Los Angeles CES Unicorns, Rancho Dominguez, Lakeview Charter, and Animo Bunche also won divisions.
Rancho Dominguez, which won Div. V in 2019 and Div. IV in 2020, got 12 kills from Veronica Lanuza in this year’s win in Div. III.
Northern Section
Grace Ferro had 43 assists and Sadie Moore, Sophia Winter, and Kayla Johnson combined for 39 kills in Pleasant Valley’s championship win over Foothill of Palo Cedro in Div. 2.
***
Reese Byxbe and Shelbie Rogers had 11 kills each in West Valley’s win in Div. III over Orland.
***
UPrep won its fourth straight Northern Section title
Amiah Cornejo had 20 kills and Kassidy Conway recorded 36 assists in University Prep’s win in Div. IV over Willows. The Panthers now have won four straight section titles.
***
East Nicolaus snuck by Trinity in five in Div. V, as Jadyn Hoffman had 29 kills and 13 digs and Taire Faupula added 20 kills and 16 digs. Chloe Albeiz had 25 kills in the loss.
***
Fall River swept Maxwell for the Div. VI crown, as Hailey Valdez and Allison Osborne, combined for 27 kills.
***
Paradise Adventist won Div. VII behind 20 kills from Taylor Roebuck and 14 more from Kelsey Ching.
San Francisco Section
Lowell repeated as Section champs by defeating Balboa for the third straight time this season.
North Coast Section
Foothill of Pleasanton is on a long winning streak, which includes the NCS Div. 1 crown
Foothill of Pleasanton won a highly competitive Div. I final over Marin Catholic by rallying from down two sets to one. The Falcons won their first title since 2010 – with four runner-up finishes in between – behind 22 kills and 15 digs from Paige Bennett, 14 kills and 19 digs from Kaycie Burdick, and 51 assists and 12 digs from Katie Salonga.
***
Elena Fisher and Sadie Snipes teamed for 26 kills as Branson swept Redwood for the Div. 2 title. The Bulls won Div. III last year.
***
Tamalpais won a North Coast Section title for the first time in program history
Tamalpais won the first section title in program history over the University of San Franciso in four sets in Div. 3. Natalia Clifford and Natalie Stanford combined for 23 kills.
***
Berean Christian won another section title in the North Coast
Head-Royce, Berean Christian, and St. Bernard’s also won NCS titles.
Libero Natalie Kwon was instrumental to Head-Royce’s win.
Berean Christian, the reigning state Div. V champs, prevailed over The Bay School thanks to strong passing, anchored by senior Sophie Hall; and effective hitting in the middle from Marley Seelye and Winter Jones.
Central Coast Section
Archbishop Mitty recovered from a dropped first set to defeat league rival Saint Francis of Mountain View in four sets for the Open Division title. The Monarchs have now won three of the five meetings between the NorCal powers this year. OH Katelyn Cook was a catalyst in the win.
***
Salinas got 16 kills from Sabrina Moore in its Div. I win over Los Gatos.
***
Aragon won its fourth section title in six years by taking out league rival Woodside in Div. II. Hunter Kwan, Kathleen Suayan, and Sophie Rubinstein all were catalysts in the Dons’ win.
***
Burlingame captured a title in CCS play
Burlingame defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in four sets in Div. III, as Ella Duong had 17 kills and Morgan Toomey added 16, including a swing down the line on match point to end it.
***
Harbor of Santa Cruz won a Central Coast Section title for the first time in almost 30 years
Harbor won its first title since 1994 by defeating Notre Dame Belmont in four sets in Div. IV to avenge a regular-season defeat. Junior S/RS Maren O’Farrell did everything well for the Pirates in victory, while junior OH Isla Johnson led the team in kills.
***
Crystal Springs Uplands beat Castilleja for its first section title in 14 years. Petra Hennessey and Georgia Beebe led the way from the middle. Ruby Flath, a 6-4 senior OH, had 19 kills in the loss for Casti.
Sac-Joaquin Section
Freshman Mckenna McIntosh had 17 kills to help St. Mary’s of Stockton sweep Rocklin in Div. 1
***
Granite Bay won its 13th match in a row to win the Div. 2 title over Roseville in four sets. Malia Pillimai had 20 kills, Mia Urosevic added 19 digs, and freshman setter Livey Hickey impressed with 54 assists and 18 digs in the win. Macie Kniesel and Abigayle Gotswals also were instrumental in the win, as they combined for 27 kills.
***
Christian Brothers’ romp through Div. 3 continued with a sweep of Central Catholic in the finals. Grace Carollo had 28 assists, Sydney Wallin contributed nine kills and 13 digs and Faith Rabb-Peterson had eight kills and four blocks in the win.
***
Ripon Christian swept Ripon for its fourth straight section title, but first in Div. 4. Jordan Vander Veen led the way with 11 kills, 13 digs, and five aces. Megan Weststeyn, the team’s six-foot, two-inch setter, had 29 assists and was huge at the net. Not only did she have three blocks, but she intimidated with her height.
***
Bradshaw Christian and Stone Ridge Christian also won titles.
Cali Cole and Peyton Shaw combined for more than 40 digs in Stone Ridge Christian’s Div, 6 win.
CIF State takeover
One day after the final Section championship match is contested, CIF State announces the brackets for the state tournament. There are six statewide divisions and one NorCal Regional tournament for the smaller schools. The Open Division, for the state’s elite that year, consists of 16 teams in two Regions, eight North and eight South. Division I-V are, at most, 32 teams, divided roughly North and South.
The dual goals of the brackets are equity and parity. CIF State tries to create a fair tournament by creating brackets where teams have the opportunity to compete. The best play the best, the next best play the next best, and so on.
One characteristic of the regional tournaments is how quickly it goes. Pairings were announced on Sunday, today is Saturday and each division is down to eight teams each, four in the North and four in the South. If you’re reading this, after today we will have determined those teams that will play in the Regional finals on Tuesday to earn the right to play for the state championship either Friday or Saturday.
It truly is a sprint!
Regional results
So far, across the six statewide divisions, a total of 122 matches have been contested between the Open Division and Division V. Two more have occurred in the six-team NorCal Regional Div. VI bracket. While we cannot recap all of those matches, here are some highlights:
Let’s start first with those “surprises.” They’re not upsets per se, because teams are expected to compete in their divisions; and it may be that the surprise team was seeded higher. These are surprises based on level of play and success at that level throughout the season and section playoffs.
I count nine results as “surprises,” two each by Monte Vista, San Luis Obispo, and South Torrance and one each from University of San Francisco, Clovis , and El Capitan of Lakeside.
Monte Vista is into the regional semifinals after two wins that would be considered upsets
Monte Vista lost to Amador Valley in the North Coast Section Div. 1 quarterfinals and wound up as a low seed in Div. I, where it has upended Central Section Div. I champion Buchanan and Sac-Joaquin Section Div. 1 semifinalist Oak Ridge to reach the Region semifinals.
Here’s the crazy thing about these playoffs: Amador Valley, the team Monte Vista lost to in Section play and seeded into the same Regional bracket, is out after losing on Thursday to Rocklin. San Luis Obispo, the team that lost to Buchanan in the Central Section Div. I final, is still alive after knocking off both Long Beach Wilson and Beckman.
You never know what’s going to happen, only that it won’t follow seed order because of how competitive the matches are expected to be.
SLO is a particularly interesting case because the Tigers were sent to play in the South Regional (because of travel considerations) and the South is considered stronger than the North. But San Luis Obispo has knocked off two state top-25 teams over the course of three days! The Tigers are led by talented juniors Ava Van Brasch and Laela Burgess.
The University Red Devils, who lost to Tamalpais in the NCS Div. 3 final, are into the Regional semifinals after wins in Div. II over Windsor and Aragon.
Windsor, the division’s top seed, was without its star hitter, Taylor Boyce, and University took advantage by hitting with great efficiency, with 37 kills combined from Kinnari Atluru and Mila Chan.
In addition to the top seed, second-seeded Pleasant Valley and fourth-seeded Salinas also lost first-round matches, leaving third-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep as the highest seed remaining.
University kept its run going by sweeping Central Coast Section Div. 2 champion Aragon on Thursday.
Tamalpais, the team that University fell to in the Section final, was eliminated on Thursday by Notre Dame Belmont. Tam and University, same NCS division, same NorCal Regional division. The Section winner has been eliminated; the runner-up fights on. That’s how it goes in the state tournament.
At the end of August, South Torrance had a 4-6 record. The Spartans lost eight more times during the regular season and were eliminated by Campbell Hall in the Southern Section Div. 3 semifinals, but not before pulling two more upsets, over Long Beach Poly and Hart. Bob Kutsch’s team has shown great resilience in the Southern California Regional playoffs in five-set wins over Newport Harbor and Otay Ranch. South gets another surprise team, San Dieguito, in the Regional semifinals, though San Dieguito’s path has been considerably easier. Joie Brown is San Dieguito’s do-it-all player.
Clovis got hot at the end of the season after languishing well below .500 for most of the fall. But on Tuesday the Cougars overcame 26 kills from Sabrina Moore to defeat CCS Div. 1 champion Salinas to move on in Div. II.
Clovis’ season ended two days later at the hands of Central Section rival Clovis North, which won in four sets to improve to 2-1 versus Clovis this season.
My final upset was authored by El Capitan of Lakeside. On Saturday, the Vaqueros lost to Francis Parker, 25-19, 25-23, 25-13, for the San Diego Section Div. I title. Five days later, El Cap turned the tables, winning 25-23, 29-27, 25-21.
You never know…
First Round of Regionals…
The Open Division has had only one round of play so far and it went almost exactly as expected.
In the North, Archbishop Mitty, Saint Francis of Mountain View, and Branson all showed dominance in sweeps. Elena Fisher had 17 kills and nine digs to lead Branson, the 2022 state Div. I champions.
In the one toss-up match, Foothill of Pleasanton got by St. Mary’s of Stockton in four sets to extend its consecutive victory streak to 34 matches. Libero Kait Vogel had 23 digs and seven aces, while both Salonga (53 assists; 11 digs) and Bennett (24 kills; 10 digs) continued their strong play.
“This marks our program's first win in the NorCal Open Division after earning our first entry in the Open Division last year,” noted coach Dusty Collins.
In the South, top-seeded Mater Dei extended its unbeaten streak to 22 by sweeping Los Alamitos behind 23 assists from Julia Kakkis and a double-double (kills; digs) from OH Isabel Clark.
Cathedral Catholic used 15 kills from senior middle Jenna Hanes, nine in the third set, to defeat Marymount in a battle between the last two consensus national champions.
Mira Costa used 26 kills from Audrey Flanagan and 29 digs from Taylor Deckert to eliminate Sierra Canyon in four sets.
Only one match went five and it was a humdinger, as senior-laden Huntington Beach outlasted youthful Torrey Pines, 16-14 in the fifth. The Oilers trailed 13-11 in the last set before finishing strong behind Taylor Ponchak, who had 20 kills, including the final two; and Haylee Lafontaine, who finished with 22 kills.
Finn Krystkowiak had 31 kills in the loss, but the Falcons were betrayed by their defense, which made 42 defensive errors and eight more in serve-receive.
Torrey Pines lost seven matches this year, four in five sets, to Cathedral Catholic (twice), Mira Costa, and Huntington Beach, and three by 2-1 scores in best of three contests to Huntington, Redondo Union, and Alemany.
Bret Harte won an opening-round match in NorCal Div. V over Oakland Tech that was a seeding upset and the only lower-seeded team to win an initial match in that bracket. The Bullfrogs did so behind seniors Chase Silva, Sophie Bouma, Makenna Tutthill, and Abbi Molina.
Mackenzie Murphy passed and played defense and Gianna Bogan had 15 kills in Rocklin’s four-set win over Palo Alto in NorCal Div. I regional play. For Palo Alto, junior setter Sophie Mies had five aces, four kills, 10 digs, and 28 assists, and outsides Kylie Yen and Maura Hambly played great all-around matches, combining for 20 kills, 29 digs, and four blocks.
“After sitting on a yellow school bus for three hours, and with four starters being significantly limited in practice over the last week to try to get them healthy enough to play, it took us a while to find our game against an excellent Rocklin team,” said Paly coach Chris Crader. “But we had some great stretches in the match, and I’m really proud of this team – for tonight, and for the entire season.”
Redwood of Visalia knocked off Culver City in four sets in a SoCal Regional Div. III match. The trio of Kennedy Cutler, Audrey Hyde, and Ashlyn Guenter combined for 37 kills, and libero Devyn Castaneda pushed through an injury to anchor the back row. Taylor Mcelree and Andee May were a big part of the “Blue Wall,” with six blocks apiece.
Orange Lutheran rebounded from a loss to league rival JSerra in the Southern Section Div. 1 final to win a first-round playoff match in Div. I of the Southern California Regional over San Marcos. Two freshmen, setter Marley Robinson (26 assists) and OH Westley Matavao (16 kills; 5 aces) led the way.
Tamalpais trailed Pleasant Valley, 24-21, in Game 3 in NorCal’s Div. II before Anne Payne served the Red Tailed Hawks to all even. Emmeline Sandgren, who finished with 32 assists, picked a great time for her lone kill of the match. Her dump completed Tam’s sweep.
U-Prep knocked off Big Valley Christian in five in NorCal Regional Div. V play. Amiah Cornejo had 30 kills, Kaira Rainsford terminated 20 times and Kassidy Conway finished with 54 assists.
Campbell Hall rebounded from a loss to Beckman in the Southern Section Div. 3 championship match to defeat Exeter Union in three sets, as middles Maggie Lima and Katie Scutucchio, and RS Ella Del Pero came on strong offensively.
Temple City kept up its strong play by dominating San Pascual in Southern California Regional Div. III play. Taylor Yu had 36 kills, 10 digs, and five aces, and Kaitlin Kong contributed five kills and two aces.
Second Round of Regionals…
Folsom surprised Marin Catholic in NorCal Div. I. The Bulldogs rallied from two sets down to win in five behind strong play from their middles, senior Addie Kannegeiser and 6-3 freshman Avery Masters. Kelly Wong, Khloe Wong, Maddy Seabury, and Lindsey Olsen also played lights out for Folsom, which has needed two reverse sweeps in a row to stay alive in Regional play.
“I believe that is our 11th match we have gone five sets so we are very experienced with those close games,” said coach Devin Elmore.
Folsom will next take on Rocklin after the Wildcats overcame Amador Valley in five sets. Those two league rivals split regular-season matches.
The two matches at the bottom of the bracket also were very competitive, with Valley Christian of San Jose eliminating San Ramon Valley in five and Monte Vista’s win over Oak Ridge, as previously mentioned. Seniors Charley Staats, Michael Torkaman, and Hailey Newell have been carrying Valley Christian.
In the South, La Canada swept Orange Lutheran to join surprising San Luis Obispo, which swept Beckman. Redondo Union took out Alemany in four sets, while Palos Verdes did likewise to Southern Section Div. 1 champion JSerra, winning for a second time this year over the Lions.
Campbell Hall swept into the Regional semifinals in SoCal Div. II by downing a second straight Central Section foe, Bakersfield Christian, which had a first-round bye. It gets tougher on Saturday versus El Capitan but the Vikings look like the favorites to play for the state title, probably versus the winner of Sacred Heart Cathedral/Notre Dame Belmont in the north.
Lowell represented the San Francisco Section will by sweeping Harbor in NorCal Regional Div. III play. The Cardinals played inspired defense in a hostile road environment and were aided by eight aces, three from Karli Cheung; and a team-high nine kills from Piper Loo.
Lowell will take on 2022 Div. III state champion Ripon Christian after the Knights went on the road to defeat Carmel. The tandem of setter Megan Weststeyn and OH Jordan Vander Veen again led the way for Ripon Christian.
Another 2022 state champion, Archie Williams, remains alive after a five-set win over West Valley of the Northern Section. The Peregrine Falcons will see Mercy of Burlingame in the next round after the Bears eliminated another Northern Section foe, Foothill of Palo Cedro.
In the South, Temple City, which won a five-set thriller over Pacific Ridge behind Taylor Yu’s 46 kills; and Redwood of Visalia, which swept Los Angeles Section stalwart Venice; will be joined in the regional semifinals by San Diego Sections teams Poway and Del Norte.
In Div. IV, El Dorado of Placerville eliminated 2022 state Div. V champion Berean Christian in five in NorCal. The Cougars get Kingsburg next, with Marin Academy and East Nicolaus still alive.
Down south, Glendale’s long unbeaten streak continues. The Nitros will be joined in the regional semis by Cleveland, Chatsworth, and Mammoth. Mammoth defeated Linfield Christian in four behind 16 kills and 17 digs from Olivia Tenedora and 43 assists from Madeline Le Francois.
Skyline of Oakland, which represented the North in the state Div. V championship match two years ago; is two wins away from getting there again after downing Colusa. The Titans face a tough test in the NorCal Div. V semifinals in Crystal Springs Uplands. Bear River, which dominated U-Prep; and Bradshaw Christian are in the other semifinal.
Finally, in the south, Oceanside has the look of the favorite in a semifinal grouping that includes Poly of Sun Valley, Orangewood Academy, and Los Angeles CES, the “Unicorns,” champions of the LAS Div. II bracket.
To see complete state tournament brackets, go here: https://www.cifstate.org/sports/girls_volleyball/brkts_2023/index
Be back next week with more news and notes on volleyball in the Golden State…