The San Diego Section girls volleyball championship playoffs have faced off with a lot of familiar South County faces – 13 schools, to be exact.
Two South County teams managed to crack the elite eight-team Open Division field – No. 4 Eastlake (26-8) and No. 7 Otay Ranch (33-7). Quarterfinal play was scheduled to begin Thursday with Metro-Mesa League co-champion Eastlake (8-0 in league) hosting fifth-seeded La Costa Canyon (24-11) and Metro-Mesa League co-champion Otay Ranch (7-1 in league) playing at second-seeded Torrey Pines (24-8).
Semifinals are scheduled Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Open Division championship game is scheduled, Friday, Nov. 4.
Otay Ranch moved up to the Open Division after winning last year’s Division II championship.
Eastlake advanced as far as last year’s Open Division semifinals.
Olympian (14-19) received the No. 12 seed in the 16-team Division I field and bowed out of Tuesday’s opening round with a 3-0 loss (25-21, 21-14, 25-15) at fifth-seeded Carlsbad (17-14).
Bonita Vista, last year’s Division III champion, received the No. 1 seed in this year’s Division II field with a rare chance to repeat as a division champion. The Lady Barons (27-9, 4-4 in league) were scheduled to launch their latest championship run on Wednesday with a match against 16th-seeded Ramona (7-24).
Quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29, followed by semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The championship game is set for Saturday, Nov. 5.
Eastlake High School’s Bianca Merloti goes up to the net for a hit in a recent game against Bonita Vista. Photo by Jon Bigornia
Mater Dei Catholic received the No. 11 seed in the Division II field. The Lady Crusaders (14-15, 1-7 in league) were scheduled to meet No. 6 San Dieguito Academy (23-11) in Wednesday’s opening round.
Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (fourth seed) and Montgomery (11th seed) both received entry into the Division III field.
Frontier Summit League champion CVLCC (18-5, 6-0 in league) was upset in three games by 13th-seeded High Tech High San Diego in Tuesday’s opening round while Metro-South Bay League champion Montgomery (16-13, 6-0 in league) was swept at sixth-seeded Canyon Hills (19-10).
Mar Vista (ninth seed) and San Ysidro (14th seed) both drew higher-seeded teams in the opening round of the Division IV playoffs – Mar Vista (12-11, 3-3 in league) at eighth-seeded St. Joseph Academy (13-12) and San Ysidro (8-12, 4-2 in league) at third-seeded Central Union (23-10).
The quarterfinal round is Saturday, followed by semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The championship round is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 5.
Both Castle Park and Bayfront Charter won play-in games on Monday to advance to the Division V main bracket. Bayfront Charter (11-8, 3-7 in league) defeated the School for Entrepreneurship and Technology (4-6) in a 3-0 sweep while Castle Park (10-8, 3-3 in league) did the same against Escondido Adventist (7-12).
Bayfront Charter, as the No. 16 seed, drew No. 1 seed (and Frontier-Sierra League champion) Victory Christian Academy (27-7) in an all-South County matchup in Wednesday’s opening round while Castle Park, as the No. 15 seed, drew a road match at second-seeded Monarch School (18-9).
Chula Vista (15-18, 4-2 in league) received the No. 12 seed in the division and was set to open the playoffs at No. 5 High Tech High North County.
Metro-Mesa League standings: Otay Ranch (7-1), Eastlake (7-1), Bonita Vista (4-4), Mater Dei Catholic (1-7), Olympian (1-7)
Metro cross country finals set Nov. 4
The Metro Conference will hold its 2022 cross country championship meet Friday, Nov. 4, at Rohr Park. Teams will be out to sew up both individual and league championships in the Mesa League, South Bay League and Pacific League. Divisions will include boys varsity and junior varsity (both 5K) and girls varsity and JV (both 2.5 miles).
