Over the weekend, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) held its final Girls Volleyball State Championships, wrapping things up for all seven divisions.
Open Division:
ARCHBISHOP MITTY DEF. MATER DEI 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 27-25)
It’s back-to-back Open Division State Champions for Archbishop Mitty out of San Jose, California, as they completed their state championship run with a sweep of Mater Dei to go 37-5 on the season. In their four matches over the course of state, the Monarchs won 12 of their 13 sets of action. According to MaxPreps, they finish as the top ranked team in the state with Mater Dei at number two, while both end in the top five nationally. It was also the 13th state title for Archbishop Mitty, who continue to be a top power in the state of California.
Division I:
SANTA MARGARITA DEF. JAMES LOGAN 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-13)
The Division I side featured 32 teams, meaning Santa Margarita won five matches to earn their division’s CIF championship. It’s a bit of redemption for them too after losing in the Open Division Championship last season. The match was a clash of the titans too, as both schools won 12 of 13 sets in their first four playoff matches, but Santa Margarita proved to be too much as they finish the season 34-9. They also rank fourth in the state and 12th in the country on MaxPreps.
Division II:
SIERRA CANYON DEF. SACRED HEART PREP 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-22)
Continuing the trend of CIF Championship sweeps, Sierra Canyon proved to be too much for Sacred Heart Prep. It turns out that the Trailblazers toughest match would come a round before in the semifinals, as it took five sets and overcoming a 2-0 deficit to advance. With an overall record of 38-7, Sierra Canyon ends the season ranked 10th in all of the state and 52nd in the country.
Division III:
POINT LOMA DEF. LINCOLN 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 27-25)
It was a diametrically opposed semifinal round in the Division III bracket, as (1) Point Loma inched by (2) St. Paul while the other side was a battle of Cinderellas in (4) Lincoln and (11) Sonora. In the end, Lincoln got the distinction of meeting Point Loma, but couldn’t take out their second #1 seed as the Pointers end the year at 23-12 and ranked 28th in the entire state.
Division IV:
PRESENTATION DEF. RANCHO BERNARDO 3-2 (14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 15-13)
Breaking the trend of the first quartet of divisions ending in sweeps was the Division IV CIF title, which provided a fantastic five set match. Heading into the round, Presentation had lost just one set and had never trailed in games. That was different in this one, as it looked to be Rancho Bernardo’s title to win after they took a 2-0 set lead, but Presentation battled back to force a fifth and squeaked things out in that final set.
Division V:
MARANATHA CHRISTIAN DEF. SAN MARIN 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20)
Maranatha Christian completed a dominant run to the Division V CIF title as they lost just one set along the way. San Marin was rolling to the semifinals too, as they hadn’t lost a set until they were challenged in five sets in that match. That may have exposed a weakness before the championship match, which had odd set scores with extremely close to one-sided to right in the middle.
Division VI:
WOODLAND CHRISTIAN DEF. BIG VALLEY CHRISTIAN 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-20)
Woodland Christian was too much for anyone in Division IV to overcome as they won every set they played in over the course of the three-round, eight team tournament. That was challenged in the second by Big Valley Christian, but it was never enough to knock off a squad that finishes the season at 30-4.
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