The 2010 San Diego Section boys volleyball playoff pairing committee was extremely kind to South County teams as nine area squads were selected to take the court in the opening rounds of the four division single-elimination field this week.
League champions received automatic entry into the playoffs. Otay Ranch captured this year’s Mesa League title with a perfect 10-0 league mark (27-7 overall) to earn a home match against San Pasqual (3-7, 6-12) in Wednesday’s opening round of the Division I playoffs. Mar Vista won the South Bay League title with a perfect 12-0 record to finish regular season play 21-12 overall and, in the process, earn a home game against University City (2-10, 9-20) in Wednesday’s opening round of the Division III playoffs.
Even more impressively, seven Metro teams earned at-large playoff berths: Eastlake (6-4, 16-9), Hilltop (6-4, 23-11) and Sweetwater (8-4, 12-12) in Division I; Bonita Vista (6-4, 11-8) in Division II; Montgomery (9-3, 13-8) in Division III; and Olympian (7-5, 12-6) and Mater Dei Catholic (2-8, 2-16) in Division IV.
Bonita Vista defeated host Patrick Henry 25-10, 25-23, 27-5 in opening round action on Tuesday to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal match-up against top-seeded Mt. Carmel (8-0, 27-3).
Olympian also advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals by defeating visiting Santana in a five-game thriller on Tuesday 29-31, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12.
Mater Dei, meanwhile, was eliminated in four games by host Tri-City Christian 21-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-17.
In the Division I playoffs, Eastlake was scheduled to host Mira Mesa (0-12, 9-20) in a first-round pairing on Wednesday while Hilltop also earned a home match, drawing Escondido (3-7, 10-22). Sweetwater drew a road assignment against Torrey Pines (8-2, 17-3) in first round playoff action.
In Wednesday’s opening round of the Division III playoffs, Montgomery was scheduled to play at Clairemont (10-2, 18-10).
Kellan De La Rosa and Zach Sanchez led Bonita Vista with 15 kills each while De La Rosa had five aces and Matt Seydel recorded 48 assists. Patrick Henry finished the season 16-15.
De La Rosa led the Barons with 251 kills entering Tuesday’s playoff opener while Sanchez had 215 kills and Kelvin Torres had 303 assists.
Team leaders for Mesa League champion Otay Ranch include Nathan Allen (280 kills), J.J. Olaogun (31 aces, 418 digs) and Nick Alegrado (841 assists).
The league title was the fifth consecutive for the Mustangs, who recently won the Monte Vista Invitational with a perfect 6-0 showing.
Team leaders for South Bay League champion Mar Vista include Nathaniel Bennett (366 kills), Erik Kinnamon (71 aces, 75 blocks, 691 assists) and Luis Alvarez (363 digs).
Bonita Vista, Hilltop and Eastlake finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Mesa League standings.
Team leaders for Hilltop include Keaton Berry (187 kills, 95 blocks), Daniel Travers (30 aces, 435 assists) and Jose Olguin (180 digs).
Team leaders for Eastlake include Scott Willes (170 kills) and Dillon Doria (27 aces, 178 digs, 543 assists).
Montgomery, Sweetwater and Olympian followed Mar Vista in the SBL standings.
Team leaders for Sweetwater include Rene Gonzales (184 kills, 76 aces, 239 assists) and Gary Ingram (172 digs).
Team leaders for Olympian include Chris Turk (155 kills), Josh Martinez (55 aces), Nate Manglal-lan (293 digs) and Brandon Lujan (187 assists).
The semifinals are scheduled May 18 (Division II and Division IV) and May 19 (Division I and Division III). This year’s championship games are scheduled May 22 at Cathedral Catholic High School – Division IV (1 p.m.), Division III (3 p.m.), Division II (5 p.m.) and Division I (7 p.m.).
