CHATSWORTH — High school girls volleyball teams from across the Los Angeles Daily News coverage area will begin their pursuit of winning CIF Southern Section regional and state championships beginning Tuesday and Wednesday.
No. 2-ranked Sierra Canyon is pursuing its first Division I title. At the same time, teams like Saugus, Newbury Park, Notre Dame (SO), Chaminade, Harvard-Westlake and West Ranch look to stake their claims as championship contenders.
From top players to fun underdogs, here’s a look at the schedules of LA Daily News area teams competing in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Who poses the biggest threat to Sierra Canyon in Division 1?
No. 2 Sierra Canyon boasts arguably the most formidable attack in the country. Scoring points and generating kills have been at a premium for the Trailblazers, led by Texas Tech commit outside hitter Hanna McGinest, Nebraska commit middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi, USC commit outside hitter McKenna McIntosh and Tennessee commit outside hitter Eva Jeffries, anchored by Missouri commit setter Lucky Fasavalu.
Mater Dei holds the No. 1 overall seed and defeated Sierra Canyon in two sets on Sept. 19 during their lone head-to-head meeting. Mater Dei is led by 6-foot-3 UCLA commit Westley Matavao, Cal commit and All-American middle blocker Emma Kingston, Long Beach State commit opposite hitter Saaliyah Brown and senior setter Kalea Lee.
Both programs need to be among the top two teams from pool play.
Sierra Canyon will host fellow Mission League gold member Marymount, Los Alamitos and Mira Costa.
Mater Dei, the top seed in pool A, hosts No. 8 Harvard-Westlake, No. 5 Santa Margarita and No. 4 seed Oaks Christian. Oaks Christian hosts Harvard-Westlake next Tuesday.
What are the best first-round matchups to watch?
Division 2 heats up with West Ranch hosting Notre Dame (SO) and Thousand Oaks hosts Saugus in Division 3.
West Ranch and Notre Dame (SO) are both young and rising teams looking to ascend and enter the regional and state round. Junior outside hitters Tatum Thomas and Sierra Hitchcock lead the Knights, anchored by libero Anya Brach and dual setting and attack of rising sophomore Jade Morgan.
West Ranch is led by its own trio of talented juniors in outside hitters Devyn Kobe, middle blocker Gioia Nicolas-Piccolino, junior opposite Jade Fedenkoff and senior setter Karleigh Larson.
Saugus looks to stun the Lancers with an attack led by senior Kimora Hogains and sophomore setter Chasiah Omoregie. Hogains generates power at the net, while Omoregie, with her setting, can also act as another blocker that can be challenging to swing past.
Thousand Oaks carries elite hitters in BYU commit outside hitter Halle Bryce and fellow BYU commit junior outside hitter Saylor Halvorsen.
CIF Southern Section Playoff schedules
Division 1
- No. 8 seed Harvard-Westlake (19-11) vs. No. 1 seed Mater Dei (35-1) on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.
- No. 4 seed Oaks Christian (25-2) vs. No. 5 seed Santa Margarita (17-10) on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.
- No. . 7Marymount (22-10) vs. No. 2 seed Sierra Canyon (29-1) on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.
- No. 8 seed Harvard-Westlake (19-11) vs. No. 4 seed Oaks Christian (25-2) on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
- No. 6 seed Los Alamitos (29-6) vs. No. 2 seed Sierra Canyon (29-1) on Tuesday, Oct. 27 6 p.m.
- No. 3 seed Mira Costa (20-6) vs. No. 2 seed Sierra Canyon (29-1) on Saturday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m.
- No. 4 seed Oaks Christian (25-2) vs. No. 1 seed Mater Dei (35-1) on Saturday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m.
- No. 8 seed Harvard-Westlake (19-11) vs. No. 5 seed Santa Margarita (17-10) on Saturday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m.
Division 2
- Notre Dame SO (22-10) vs. West Ranch (22-6) 6 p.m. Tuesday
- Campbell Hall (21-7) vs. Long Beach Poly (25-1) 6 p.m. Tuesday
Division 3
- Saugus (28-8-1) vs. Thousand Oaks (25-9) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Santiago (18-12) vs. Newbury Park (30-9) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Oak Park (23-9) vs. Foothill (24-5) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Alemany (22-7) vs. Beckman (24-9) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Chaminade (18-18) vs. Valley Christian (21-8) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Flintridge Prep (20-9) vs. Millikan (9-8) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Chaparral (13-14) vs. Crescenta Valley (27-10) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Crossroads (21-6) vs. La Canada (18-10) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Division 4
- Summit (24-3) vs. Burroughs (16-14) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Village Christian (13-19) vs. Ayala (22-8) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Xavier Prep (21-8) vs. Royal (16-7) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 5
- Moorpark (12-11) vs. Canyon (17-14) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Western Christian (20-11) vs. Valencia (19-13) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Southlands Christian (20-8) vs. Viewpoint (11-7) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Gahr (23-11) vs. Paraclete (21-5-1) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Providence of Burbank (17-11-3) vs. La Serna (21-11-1) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Quartz Hill (22-14) vs. Temple City (15-7) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 6
- Oxford Academy (20-9-1) vs. Castaic (16-13) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Schurr (21-11) vs. Holy Martyrs (20-11) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 7
- Trinity Classical Academy (19-7) vs. Nordhoff (19-6) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Tahquitz (14-10) vs. Buckley (15-9-2) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- St. Genevieve (19-11-1) vs. Foothill Tech (14-5) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 8
- Colony (10-10) vs. Burbank (14-17-3) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 9
- AGBU (11-14) vs. Saddleback (17-4-1) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- St. Lestonnac (12-12) vs. Santa Clarita Christian (18-8-2) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 10
- Cathedral City (11-12) vs. Lancaster (14-13-2) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Division 11
- Norton Science/Language Academy (10-4) vs. Newbury Park Adventist (6-6) 6 p.m. Tuesday.
- Grace (6-9) vs. Shalhevet (9-5) 6 p.m. Tuesday.