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The CIF Southern Section released its playoff brackets Saturday morning, and now five Long Beach girls’ volleyball teams know their playoff path. Four Moore League teams along with St. Anthony will open up play on Tuesday and Wednesday, with second-round contests set for Saturday.
CLICK HERE to see the complete brackets on the CIF-SS website.
Division 3
It was another fortuitous split for Long Beach Poly as they ended up No. 3 in Division 3, with a Wednesday 6pm home match against Woodcrest Christian to start. With a win the Jackrabbits would face the winner of Torrance and Downey.
“We’re ready,” said Poly coach Gerald Aquiningoc when asked about the playoffs last week. “We’ve had some adversity but everyone is really buying in, and obviously that’s what you need for this time of year.”
The Jackrabbits have just wrapped up a 12-0 Moore League championship, their first undefeated run through the league in six years. By seeding Poly is favored to reach the semifinals–as they did last year–but there are quality teams in front of them.
One of the teams they could end up facing is Wilson, as the Moore League’s two-seed is in the same half of the bracket in Division 3 as the Jackrabbits. The Bruins will start on the road Wednesday at Arcadia, and would face the winner of Anaheim Canyon and No. 2-seeded Dana Hills with a victory.
Division 4
Millikan will open the playoffs on Thursday in Division 4, with a road match at Heritage Christian. The CIF-SS is employing a new playoff format this year similar to the one they’ve used recently with football, which means that teams are more spread out by division than ever before–teams like Millikan and Lakewood could have an even great chance than the top teams in the league to win a CIF-SS title.
The Rams certainly showed they can play with the big dogs this year, and will try to do so in the playoffs as they hit the road Thursday; a win would give them a Saturday match between the winner of Northwood and Burroughs.
Division 5
Lakewood is the four-seed out of the Moore League and will also have a lower-division path available to them as they were placed in Division 5. The Lancers will travel to Hesperia Christian on Thursday for an opening round, and if they advance would see the winners of Kaiser and Summit.
St. Anthony is the only Long Beach team with a home match to open the playoffs besides Poly. The Saints are the top seed out of the Camino Real League and will host Sunbelt League champion Arlington on Thursday at 6pm. With a win the Saints would likely face the No. 2 seed Canyon.
