IV VOLLEYBALL TEAMS prepped for CIF playoffs
EL CENTRO — The CIF-San Diego Section volleyball championships will begin later this week, with a total of five Imperial Valley teams making the cut for this year’s playoffs.
The five eligible teams will compete in a variety of divisions including Div. II, Div. III and Div. IV.
This year, the team from Imperial High School will be competing in the Div. II tourney after having competed in Div. III the past few seasons.
The Tigers went 13-12 overall this season and 7-5 in Imperial Valley League action.
Imperial earned the tourney’s No. 16 seed and will travel on Tuesday to face the No. 1 seed, University City.
The Centurions went 8-0 in City-Eastern League action and hold a 17-7 record heading in the first-round contest.
Competing in Div. III this year is a pair of IVL teams including IVL champion Brawley Union High School and Calexico High School.
The Wildcats have an impressive overall record of 21-10 and also went 12-0 in league action dropping just two sets to local teams, while earning 10 matchsweeps.
Brawley was rewarded with the tourney’s No. 5 seed, earning them a first-round home match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Wildcats will host the No. 12 seed Serra, who also goes into the contest as a league champion.
The Conquistadors went 8-0 in City League action and have an overall record of 13-17.
Also in Div. III, the Bulldogs nabbed the No. 13 seed, meaning they will travel for their firstround game.
Calexico will face the No. 4 seed Helix at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Highlanders finished Grossmont Hills action with a league record of 8-2 and are 16-11 overall heading into the contest.
The Bulldogs went 9-12 overall and 7-5 in league action and will be competing in Div. III tourney for the second year in a row.
Rounding out the Valley’s CIF title contenders are Southwest High School and Holtville High School, who will be competing in Div. IV this year.
This is the Eagles first playoff appearance since 2012. This year also marked the team went 12-0 in IVL action.
This year, Southwest earned the No. 3 seed after going 9-3 in IVL play and 18-7-1 overall.
The Eagles will host No. 14 Oceanside at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the first-round of the playoffs.