Mater Dei tops California Top 20 high school girls volleyball rankings (10-16-2023)

Heading into the playoffs, the Southern Section boasts 10 of the top 20 teams in the state

Section playoffs are here for the Southern Section, with others soon to follow. 

The SS has categorized everyone and the eight best are in Division 1, with its unique round-robin starting this week. The other SS teams head to divisional playoffs this week and use the standard bracketing format.

The seeds in Division 1 are, in order, Mater Dei-Santa Ana, Mira Costa-Manhattan Beach, Huntington Beach, Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth, Marymount-Los Angeles, Alemany-Mission Hills, Los Alamitos and Palos Verdes-Palos Verdes Estates. The octet is more evenly-matched than last season and could have upsets, drama and thrills.

CIF Southern Section 2023 girls volleyball playoff brackets: Scores, matchups, game times

Other sections are finishing up the regular season and their playoffs begin soon. Before long, the best will be down at Santiago Canyon College in Orange for the CIF State Championships on November 17 and 18.

SBLive California Top 20 Girls Volleyball Rankings (records through October 15)

1. Mater Dei (Southern Section, 35-2 overall record, No. 1 last rating)

Isabel Clark and Layli Ostovar lead the attack. Monarchs beat JSerra-San Juan Capistrano in four sets, Orange Lutheran-Orange in four, and swept Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita. MDHS nabbed the top seed in the SS Division 1 playoffs but that little tournament will be crazy.

Mater Dei's Sydney Raszewski (6) leads a celebration after a point during an August win over Mira Costa / Photo: Heston Quan

2. Mira Costa (SS, 35-2 overall record, was No. 2)

Audrey Flanagan had 10 kills in a 25-12, 25-13 tourney victory over improving Marymount. MCHS then swept Redondo Union-Redondo Beach to finish unbeaten at 10-0 in Bay League play. Flanagan blasted 16 kills to beat Redondo.

Mira Costa senior Charlie Fuerbringer with another perfect set / Photo: Heston Quan

3. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego Section, 28-4, was No. 3)

Jenna Hanes, a 6-3 middle, leads the Dons with 248 kills and a .465 attack percentage. Cathedral Catholic is a dangerous dark horse in the SoCal Regionals as the Southern Section teams must fight through the section’s fierce round-robin battles before heading to SoCals.

4. Huntington Beach (SS, 27-7, was No. 4)

Oilers won the challenging Sunset – Surf League with a 5-1 mark. They beat Edison-Huntington Beach in five and won at Los Alamitos in five via a reverse sweep. Took down Newport Harbor-Newport Beach in four but lost finale at home to Edison with a 15-13 fifth-set.

5. Sierra Canyon (SS, 33-6, was No. 5)

Quite an accomplishment to go 10-0 in the Mission League. Trailblazers finished loop play with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-16 sweep of Marymount, with 12 kills from Madeline Way, and a 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16 win over powerful Alemany.

6. Saint Francis (Central Coast Section, 29-4, was No. 6)

Lancers won the TOC in Phoenix, beating Cornerstone Christian-San Antonio TX in the championship match 25-19, 22-25, 15-6. However, St. Francis fell to rival Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 25-22, 27-25 in the Stockton Classic. Nice win over Amador Valley-Pleasanton before the loss to the Monarchs.

7. Foothill (North Coast Section, 30-1, was No. 9)

Foothill is 13-0 in the East Bay Athletic League, leading Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley-Danville. Dons have won 33 of 34 sets since September 19.

8. Archbishop Mitty (CCS, 25-4, was No. 16)

Monarchs won the Stockton Classic by defeating rival St. Francis. Mitty is led by sophomore Makenna Crosson with 4.2 kills per set and Katelyn Cook with 3.9 kills per set.

9. Marymount (SS, 26-10, was Not Rated)

Sailors beat Redondo, Los Alamitos and Alemany, while falling only to Mira Costa. Kate Martin leads Marymount with 3.3 kills per set and Sammy Destler contributes 3.0 kills per set. Statement win over Los Al was by 25-22, 25-18.

10. Alemany (SS, 23-7, was No. 10)

Warriors lost to Marymount as Sailors prevailed 23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 13-25, 15-8. Alemany then fell to Sierra Canyon as the Trailblazers topped them 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16. Nothing wrong with those two solid performances.

11. Los Alamitos (SS, 31-5, was No. 7)

Crazy loss to Huntington Beach. Oilers won 26-28 24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 15-5.

12. Palos Verdes-Palos Verdes Estates (SS, 21-8, was No. 13)

Kendall Beshear rips an amazing 5.4 kills per set. She has 456 of the Sea Kings’ 980 kills. PV lost to Mira Costa in five sets and beat Redondo in five sets. That victory gave them a season sweep of the RU Sea Hawks, quite an accomplishment.

13. Beckman-Irvine (SS, 27-5, was No. 8)

Patriots are a big favorite in the SS Division 3 playoffs. They fell to Marymount 25-22, 25-16 and swept Newport Harbor.

14. St. Mary’s-Stockton (San Joaquin Section, 26-2, was No. 11)

Rams beat St. Ignatius-San Francisco 25-15, 21-25, 15-11 behind 16 kills from freshman McKenna McIntosh. They later lost to St. Francis 25-19, 25-10.

15. Branson-Ross (NCS, 22-4, was No. 12)

Sadie Snipes led Branson to a 25-9, 25-18, 15-25, 25-16 win over Redwood-Larkspur. Bulls are 8-0 in the competitive Marin County Athletic League, ahead of the Giants, Marin Catholic-Kentfield, Tamalpais-Mill Valley and Archie Williams-San Anselmo.

16. Torrey Pines (SDS, 20-5, was No. 15)

Falcons defeated JSerra 28-26, 17-25, 18-16 to win the SoCal Invitational. Finley Krystkowiak belted 17 kills and Layla Williams added 15.

17. Redondo Union (SS, 21-12, was No. 14)

Finished third in the Bay League this year. Will be a force to reckon with in SS Division 2 playoffs. Redondo is led by Addy Benefield, Abby Zimmerman and Ella Zimmerman.

18. St. Ignatius (CCS, 20-11, was No. 19)

Wildcats beat San Ramon Valley in three, lost to Mitty only by 25-16, 25-22, and beat Marin Catholic 27-29, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15. SI runs a 6-2 with setters Tara Hagan and Logan Stern. Carol Manu leads the attack.

19. San Ramon Valley (NCS, 22-5, was Not Rated)

Kate Stern and Audree Vasconi set for the Wolves, who are 11-1 in the EBAL.

20. Rocklin (SJS, 18-9, was No. 20)

The Thunder are 7-2 in the competitive Sierra Foothill League, ahead of Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills and Folsom.

On the bubble: Campbell Hall-North Hollywood (SS), Santa Margarita (SS), Harbor-Santa Cruz (CCS), JSerra (SS), Marin Catholic (NCS), Amador Valley (NCS).

Got comments, questions or opinions? Email gordon.kass@gmail.com.

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