West Ranch embarks on journey in CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs
Thirty high school boys volleyball teams earned a berth to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs Monday. Almost a third of the field (nine teams) is taken by local schools: Burroughs, Notre Dame, Valencia, Thousand Oaks, Crescenta Valley, St. Francis, Westlake, Alemany and West Ranch.
West Ranch — the unbeaten Foothill League champion — will host Alemany (6-7-1) in the opening round Thursday at 6 p.m.
“We are really looking forward to the playoffs starting Thursday,” West Ranch coach Brandon Johnson said. “We are excited to be hosting the first round and are confident in the way we are currently playing.”
The Wildcats (27-7) lost three straight matches in their most recent tournament, the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara, but sometimes a good reality check is healthy before the playoffs, where it's win or go home.
“We took some lumps in our final tournament of the season, and hopefully that will motivate us moving forward into the playoffs,” Johnson said.
The winner of the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions was Burroughs (29-3). The Bears ran through the Pacific League, going 10-0 en route to a No. 2 seed and first-round bye. Burroughs will play the winner of Valley Christian vs. South Torrance in the second round Saturday.
Other Division 2 first-round matchups include: Westlake (18-6) at Torrance (20-5); St. Francis (22-9-1) at Warren (1410); Crescenta Valley (25-9) at Windward (12-5); Orange Lutheran (17-13) at Thousand Oaks (24-9); Notre Dame (16-9-2) at San Juan Hills (21-5); Valencia (15-18) at San Marcos (24-7).
Other notable pairings
Quartz Hill will host Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica in the first round in Division 3. Royal, the No. 2 seed in Division 3, will await the wild-card winner of La Salle vs. Hart.
Malibu will host Calabasas, and Oak Park will host Foothill Tech in Division 4.
City Section
The Los Angeles City Section
expects to announce its boys volleyball playoff pairings Thursday. The section's last allowable regular-season contest date was Monday.
It's likely that Chatsworth (34-9), which went undefeated in the West Valley League (100), will be the No. 1 seed in the Open Division.
Divisions 1 through 5 will play first-round matches May 3. The Open Division will begin May 4.