The Sierra Canyon and Newbury Park girls volleyball teams will play in CIF Southern Section championship matches Saturday.
In Division 1, the top two ranked teams in the country will go head-to-head when No. 2-ranked Sierra Canyon (32-1) faces No. 1-ranked Mater Dei (36-1). Newbury Park (34-9) takes on Corona del Mar (25-9) for the Division 3 title.
Where to watch Sierra Canyon and Newbury Park
• Sierra Canyon will face Mater Dei on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Cerritos College. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network.
• Newbury Park plays Corona del Mar on Saturday at noon at Cerritos College. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network.
Fun facts about Sierra Canyon
• Sierra Canyon carries six players with Division I offers, led by setter Lucky Fasavalu (Missouri), middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi (Nebraska), outside hitter McKenna McIntosh (USC), outside hitter Hanna McGinest (Texas Tech), opposite Eva Jeffries (Tennessee) and setter Olive Shum-Koubeck (UC Irvine).
• McGinest has two older sisters who play college volleyball. Rylie McGinest plays middle blocker at USC and Halie plays defensive specialist at Howard. Father Willie McGinest is a 2-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and was an All-American at USC.
• Omoruyi played for the USA U23 and U21 National Team as a middle blocker and opposite. Omoruyi had nine kills to help Team USA win the Pan-Am Cup over the Dominican Republic on Sept. 6 in Managua, Nicaragua.
• Fasavalu plays for the Samoan National team and won a silver medal at the Oceania Zonal Regional Championships.
Tale of the tape against Mater Dei
Sierra Canyon lost its lone match against Mater Dei 25-18, 25-17 on Sept. 19. Omoruyi and McIntosh had negative hitting percentages, and the Trailblazers combined for nine hitting errors. Freshman 6-foot-1 outside hitter Jimin Seung led with seven kills, junior setter Riley Stringer ran the Monarchs’ offense and had 14 assists. UCLA commit and No. 1-ranked outside hitter Westley Matavao finished with five kills and six digs. Sierra Canyon will have to rely more heavily on its back row and pass better than in its first matchup to engage its offensive weapons in McGinest, Omoruyi, Jeffries and McIntosh.
Fun facts about Newbury Park
• Newbury Park carries two Division I-committed beach volleyball players.
• Senior outside hitter Charley Knupp is committed to Saint Mary’s.
• Junior Delaney Knopp is committed to Pepperdine.
• Freshman libero Olena Harasymowycz’s father, Greg, is her team’s assistant coach. Older brother Dax is a right-handed pitcher.
• Senior opposite Sara Vlaskovitis is committed to Pomona-Pitzer.
Tale of the tape against Corona del Mar
The two teams haven’t played each other in 2026. Corona del Mar is led by 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, 5-foot-9 outside hitter and defensive specialist Savannah Dennis, and senior middle blocker Lila Peykoff. Corona del Mar will attempt to change pace with Newbury Park. The beach experience of Knupp and Knopp should serve Newbury Park because of their ability to hit from different angles. Sophomore Emmery Reynolds adds depth to the Panthers’ attack.