Bay League teams survive first round of CIF volleyball playoffs
Redondo’s Ristin Sahebi led the team with 14 kills in the Sea Hawks’ 3-1 victory over Edison in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Photo
Mira Costa, Redondo and Peninsula advanced to Saturday’s second round of the CIF Southern Section boys volleyball playoffs with impressive victories.
Second-seeded Mira Costa, the Bay League champion, began the Division 1 playoffs with a 3-0 shutout of Los Alamitos and will travel to face No. 7 Huntington Beach in the second round on Saturday.
Fourth-seeded Redondo defeated host Edison 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 in its first-round match. Ristin Sahebi recorded a team-high 14 kills, Rees Barnett added 13 kills and Keagan Benson posted 39 assists for the Sea Hawks.
Redondo will host rival Loyola in the second round. The Cubs defeated Laguna Beach 3-1 in the opening round.
“It is likely the toughest second round matchup, but with the smaller bracket only eight teams remain after the first round so every match will be tough,” Redondo coach Kevin Norman said. “In my opinion, if we can execute and take care of the things we need to do as a team, we can be successful against anyone. All said and done, anyone making the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs is basically in what some sections call the open division. This division is even stronger being from the Southern Section with so many teams capable of beating any opponent on any given night.”
Redondo rebounded after losing to Mira Costa, who claimed a share of the Bay League title with a sweep over the Sea Hawks in the Mustangs’ regular season finale.
Redondo quickly regrouped to beat Mater Dei 3-2 in its final match of the regular season.
Also competing in Division 1, Palos Verdes saw its season come to an end after falling to top-seeded Newport Harbor 3-0.
In Division 3, Peninsula shut out host Foothill Tech 3-0 and will host Roosevelt, who swept Claremont, in the second round on Thursday.
In Division 2, South Torrance fell to Thousand Oaks and El Segundo won an all-South Bay duel with Bishop Montgomery 3-1. The Eagles will host third-seeded Beckman in the second round tonight at 6 p.m.
In Division 4, Torrance swept St. Monica 3-0 and will travel to face third-seeded Los Altos in the second round tonight.
North Torrance, who beat Lawndale in a wild-card match, fell to No. 1 Valley Christian 3-0 and Vistamar saw its season end with a 3-1 loss to No. 9 Laguna Blanca.
For complete results, visit cifss.org.