The release of the CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball playoff brackets reveal a difficult path for Long Beach’s five playoff teams, with no one in the Moore League getting a home match in their opening round.
Lakewood
The Lancers are the undefeated Moore League champions, having not dropped a set the entire way through league play. Lakewood (23-3) is ranked No. 3 in the state of California and received the No. 3 seed in the ten-team CIF-SS Division 1 playoff bracket. The Lancers, who have almost certainly also clinched a berth in the CIF State playoffs, will not get a home match however.
They’ll open up on Wednesday, Oct. 27 on the road against Vista Murrieta. The reason is that since both Lakewood and Vista Murrieta receive a “home match” with their first-round byes, a coin flip decided the quarterfinal site, with Vista winning it. If Lakewood wins against Vista in the quarters, they’d host Mater Dei in the semifinals on Oct. 30.
“We have to get there first,” said Lakewood coach Mike Wadley. “This group is okay traveling, we travel well–you have to do it at some point if you want to win. It’s all good. We also have 11 days to prepare because it’s only a 10-team bracket, so we’re going to get a lot of training and conditioning in. We’ll be prepared. Vista is a really good program, they have a really good coach, so we have to be ready.”
Long Beach Poly
The Jackrabbits (11-17) are the Moore League’s third seed but are in Division 2, with the other two teams in Division 3. The Jackrabbits have a tough draw (as has been traditional for the league’s third-seeded team) opening up on the road against Aliso Niguel, the top-seeded team in the bracket. Aliso (21-4) will host Poly on Thursday, Oct. 21.
If Poly wins the bracket opens up for them, with a match Saturday against the winner of Esperanza and Rancho Cucamonga.
Wilson, Millikan
In Division 3, Wilson and Millikan also open up on the road.
Wilson (22-10) got the league’s second seed, and will open up with a winnable match on the road against South Torrance (19-10) on Thursday, Oct. 21. South Torrance is the second seed from the Pioneer League. A win by the Bruins would give them a match Saturday against the winner of Burroughs and Mission Viejo.
Millikan (9-8) is the league’s fourth seed, and will open up on the road at St. Margaret’s on Thursday. A win would mean a Saturday match against Valley Christian or Orange Lutheran.
Avalon
Out on Catalina Island, Avalon actually gets the only guaranteed home match of the playoffs for a Long Beach or LBUSD team. Avalon is No. 2 in Division 9 and the Lancers (20-4) will get a wild card winner in the first round. On Thursday, Oct. 21, Avalon will host the winner of a wild cart between Liberty Christian and Newbury Park Adventist.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL BRACKETS WITH ALL DIVISIONS: 2021 Girls Volleyball Brackets
