History was made last Saturday at Cathedral Catholic High School for one Metro Conference girls volleyball team while it was repeated for another.
Second-seeded Otay Ranch High School upended top-seeded Francis Parker in four games 25-22, 10-25, 25-20, 25-23 to capture the school’s first San Diego Section divisional championship in the sport while second-seeded Bonita Vista downed No. 4 Fallbrook in a three-game sweep 25-16, 25-16, 25-15 to win its first CIF banner since 2000.
Both teams won their prizes at past of last weekend’s section finals at the North County venue.
Finals host Cathedral Catholic (35-3) won the elite Open Division title with a three-game sweep of No. 3 La Costa Canyon while fourth-seeded Carlsbad (21-11) won the Division I championship with a three-game sweep over second-seeded Rancho Bernardo.
In games last Friday at Canyon Crest Academy, second-seeded Santana (23-3) defeated fourth-seeded Foothills Christian in four games to win the Division IV title while third-seeded Central Union (19-15) swept fourth-seeded Kearny to win the Division V crown.
Bonita Vista athletic director Tyler Arciaga called the 21-year wait for a CIF repeat “a great accomplishment for the girls and head coach Ahmad Rice.”
“They have been working really hard and endured such an abbreviated season last year,” Arciaga said. “To see the girls continuously improve this year has been a testament to their grit and determination. We are excited to see them in the CIF state tournament this week.”
Senior Keely Larson led the Lady Barons with 14 kills, two blocks and three aces in the sweep over the Lady Warriors (21-12).
“Saturday’s game was a great game and exciting being able to defeat Fallbrook with a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Rice said. Jaiden Mojica set a great game setting up multiple one-on-one situations for all our front row hitters; she was able to distribute the ball to all our hitters so we could take aggressive swings.
“Some of our top girls who make our team dynamic include Keely Larson, Alina Inzunza, Maria Coronado, Haley Frushon, Maya Michaud and Izabella Williams — our starting six.
“Keely (senior captain) is a great leader for the team on and off the court leading in kills, a six-rotation player, playing two positions and back row when traditionally as only a middle hitter. Alina Inzunza (second in kills) and Maria Coronado add to our dynamic offense because of their ability to hit a variety of shots to keep the opposing team guessing on their next attack and getting kills.
“The combination of Maya, Izabella and Hayley completes our team with their defense adjusting and adapting to different offenses during the game. Maya and Izabella put up huge blocks and attacks from the middle that open opportunities for our pin hitters, while Hayley provides the stability in our defense and digs anything that comes our way giving Jaiden an opportunity to create a dynamic offense.”
Bonita Vista took a 25-12 record heading into Tuesday’s Southern California Division III regional playoff game at fourth-seeded Torrance.
Otay Ranch, meanwhile, earned a home game in Tuesday’s regional playoffs against 16th-seeded South Hills by virtue of its section championship. In fact, the Lady Mustangs earned the No. 1 seed in the regional field.
Otay Ranch (35-7) lost one game in the CIF championship match to the Lady Lancers (18-11) but scored the maximum number of points in the other three games to make history.
The Lady Mustangs had previously advanced to the Division II championship game in 2014, placing runner-up to Ramona.
Sophomores Andrea Torres keyed the Lady Mustangs with 16 kills while sophomore Ximena Cordero added 15 kills. Senior Arramis Gonzalez contributed 13 kills.
Cordero and sophomore Jaslen Orbita both served four aces while senior Maya Loper had two blocks.
Senior Madeline Caro had 17 digs, followed by Orbita with 12 digs, Cordero with 10 digs and Torres with nine digs.
Junior Zoe Rachow dished out 40 assists.
Freshman Ava Poinsett paced Francis Parker with 11 kills, five aces.
Senior Delaney Wilson contributed six blocks while sophomore Sami Kim had 14 digs. Senior Alexis Cady had 26 assists.
Eastlake, Otay Ranch advance in state regional playoffs
Eastlake High School’s girls volleyball team may have been denied a berth in last weekend’s San Diego Section championship finals but the Lady Titans got a chance to prove they were still one of the top teams in the state after sweeping past visiting La Salle 25-22, 25-14, 20-25, 25-21 in Tuesday’s Southern California regional playoff opener.
Fourth-seeded Eastlake (34-9) advanced to Thursday’s second-round match against 12th-seeded Palos Verdes (26-8) after the Lady Sea Kings upset fifth-seeded San Marcos (33-5) on Tuesday.
Mesa League champion Eastlake was eliminated from the section’s Open Division semifinals by eventual division runner-up La Costa Canyon. However, semifinalists, along with the two finalists, earned berths in the state playoffs.
Otay Ranch, which received the No. 1 seed in the Division III state regionals, swept 16th-seeded South Hills 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 in Tuesday’s opening round. The Lady Mustangs (36-7) advanced to Thursday’s second-round match against ninth-seeded Oxnard (25-10).
Bonita Vista, which received the No. 13 seed, exited with a 3-0 loss at fourth-seeded Torrance (29-4).
Thursday’s winners advance to Saturday’s regional semifinals.
The SoCal championship game is scheduled Nov. 16. The state championship game is scheduled Nov. 20 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.
Southern California Regional Update
Eastlake (Division I) and Otay Ranch (Division III) both won their second-round games on Thursday. Fourth-seeded Eastlake (35-9) defeated 12th-seeded Palos Verdes (26-9) in a three-game sweep 25-17, 27-25, 25-20 to advance to Saturday’s third round while top-seeded Otay Ranch (37-7) advanced past ninth-seeded Oxnard (25-11) with a 3-0 advantage 25-13, 25-21, 25-20.
Otay Ranch will host fifth-seeded Chino Hills (20-15) on Saturday while Eastlake will play at top-seeded Sierra Canyon (23-7).
Sophomore Andrea Torres keyed Otay Ranch with 12 kills while senior Arramis Gonzalez had 11 kills. Junior Zoe Rachow had six aces, eight digs and 28 assists while Gonzalez had five aces.
The Lady Mustangs were dominant with 22 serving aces.
Photo Gallery by Jon Bigornia
Oxnard at Otay Ranch:
Palos Verdes at Eastlake:
BOYS WATER POLO: Top-seeded Mar Vista (Division I) and ninth-seeded Hilltop (Division II) were the lone Metro Conference teams to come up with victories in the opening round of this year’s San Diego Section playoffs.
COLLEGE WATER POLO: Grossmont College (men) and Palomar College (women) both captured gender titles at last weeekend’s Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship tournament at Southwestern College.
