Unranked for most of the season in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 poll, Redondo’s boys volleyball team has consistently improved throughout the year and is now in the driver’s seat to claim its first Bay League championship since 2014.
Redondo is undefeated in league play and its 3-1 win against Peninsula on Tuesday gave the Sea Hawks at least a share of the Bay title.
First-year head coach Chris Austin and his squad can claim the league crown outright with a win at Palos Verdes on Thursday. Game time is 3:15 p.m.
Prior to its 7 p.m. regular-season finale at Mira Costa on Tuesday, May 2, Redondo will hold its annual Varsity Classic tournament in preparation for the upcoming CIF playoffs..
Ranked No. 10 in CIF-SS Division 1, Redondo cracked the top ten for the first time this season and will co-host the 32-team tournament with Mira Costa and South Torrance.
Pool play (8 pools of 4 teams) will be held Friday starting at 3:30 p.m. Playoffs begin Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with all teams finishing first and second in the pools compete in the Gold Division. Third-place teams play in the Silver Division and fourth-place teams in the Bronze Division. Tickets are $10 for all day and $5 for kids under 12 years old.
Redondo will host four pools in its two gyms. Pool 1 includes top seeded Oak Park (No. 1, Div. 1), Santa Monica (No. 5 Div. 2), Laguna Hills and Oaks Christian.
Pool 2 consists of sixth-seeded Redondo, El Camino Real, West Torrance (No. 2 Div. 3) and Oxnard.
Competing in Pool 3 will be second-seeded Calabasas (No. 1 Div. 2), La Costa Canyon (No. 3 San Diego), El Segundo (No. 7 Div. 2) and Foothill.
Teams in Pool 4 include third-seeded Laguna Beach (No. 9 Div. 1), Newbury Park, Burroughs/Burbank and Torrance.
Competition at Mira Costa includes Pool 5 teams headed by fifth-seeded Palisades (No. 1, LA City Div. 1), Cathedral Catholic (No. 6 San Diego), Great Oak and Peninsula and Pool 6 teams seventh-seeded Mira Costa, Saddleback Valley Christian, Valencia ad Rio Mesa.
Playing at South Torrance will be Pool 7 including fourth-seeded San Clemente, Palos Verdes, Carlsbad and Coronado (Nev.).
Eighth-seeded South Torrance (No.2 Div. 2) leads Pool 8 that also includes West Ranch, Cerritos (No. 1 Div. 5) ad Poway.
Redondo senior Logan Glave feels his team’s 3-1 home victory against Mira Costa on April 6 was a turning point for the Sea Hawks, who carried the momentum into their next match with a sweep of Palos Verdes.
“The keys to the match against Mira Costa were that everybody stepped up and remained steady throughout the match,” Glave said. “We stuck together as a team and there were no individuals. Our out-of-system hitting was pretty good, and we were able to put pressure on them because of it.
“The match meant more than just beating our rivals. Before Mira Costa, we came off a tough loss to Loyola in four sets. The match against Costa showed we can play with, and beat, top ranked teams in our league as well as CIF. If we work hard and decide to show up to matches, I believe we can beat any team. We are hoping to win the Bay League outright and make a long run in CIF.”
