These three players from Huntington Beach — Ashley Stevens, Julia Jackson and Cami Sanchez — were all on the all-tourney team when the Oilers won top honors last month at the Coastal Classic tourney in San Diego. Photo: hboilersvolleyball.net.
Mater Dei has to fall from No. 1 after a second loss to Santa Margarita. Since previous No. 2 Archibishop Mitty has a win over Santa Margarita, it’s been elevated to the top this week. It’s also a big rise this week for Marymount of Los Angeles, which hasn’t lost to any other team from California this season other than Santa Margarita.
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(Through games of Tuesday, Oct. 11)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
1. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 20-3
The Monarchs, who were the No. 1 team in the state last year, get to move back up into that position due to having a head-to-head win over Santa Margarita. They’ll be tested this week with a Wednesday matchup vs. No. 9 St. Ignatius and then a trip to Stockton on Saturday for the one-day Stockton Classic where they could play state-ranked Notre Dame of Belmont, state-ranked Oak Ridge or one or two of their West Catholic Athletic League opponents. We’ll be there as well, covering for us and the CalHiSportStars Network.
2. (4) Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 27-4
While they didn’t sweep Mater Dei of Santa Ana like they did earlier this season, the Eagles defeated the Monarchs 2-1 to capture the California Challenge at Torrey Pines and finish a perfect 7-0 while losing just one set. At the tournament, they also had a win over Harvard-Westlake and Marymount of Los Angeles in the semifinals. They recently this week had a 3-0 road win over Orange Lutheran of Lutheran as Sarah Ciszek led the attack with 10 kills. Now a perfect 5-0 in Trinity League play, the Eagles have only lost one set while winning 15 during league play.
3. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 26-4
Another week and another tournament for the Monarchs as they went to the California Challenge in San Diego and had wins in the top division over La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad and Lakewood before losing to Santa Margarita for the second time this season. Unlike their earlier loss that saw them lose in straight sets, the Monarchs took the opening set before losing 2-1 to the Eagles, who they will have another chance to play in the Trinity League. Sophomore Natalie Berty had six kills in the loss. Their only two losses this season to a team from California has come against the Eagles, but that is enough to drop them behind the Eagles in this week’s rankings.
4. (12) Marymount (Los Angeles) 24-4
Moving up the Sailors this high might be bolder than most in SoCal would do, but their only two in-state losses are to Santa Margarita with the other two coming to out-of-state foes. Marymount also just displaced previous No. 4 San Juan Hills with a win at the California Challenge at Torrey Pines before losing to Santa Margarita in the semifinals. There was no third-place game.
5. (6) Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) 20-5
Last week’s big match for the Mustangs was beating arch-rival Redondo Union. It was a win in three straight games, too. This week it’ll be a home court showdown against previous state and national No. 1 Mater Dei.
6. (7) Notre Dame (Belmont) 20-7
Returning home from Arizona and returning to their winning ways, the Tigers had a pair of straight set wins over Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton and Mercy of San Francisco to improve to 6-0 in West Bay Foothill League action. Senior Katie Smoot had a big night during the 3-0 win over the Skippers as she sent the ball skipping across the other side of the ne with 23 kills. They are one of several teams we may see this weekend at the Stockton Classic.
7. (8) Huntington Beach 21-3
Cami Sanchez led the way with 19 kills while Bailey Nelson (14 kills) and Jillian Kim (13 kills) also stood out in a 3-1 win by the Oilers on Tuesday of this week over Los Alamitos, which is way better than its 15-15 record indicates. The next matchup vs. Sunset League rival and state-ranked Edison is on Thursday.
Anne Crouch from St. Ignatius of San Francisco slams one down during match from earlier this season. Photo: @SIScores/Twitter.com.
8. (9) Edison (Huntington Beach) 24-7
The Chargers prepped for their next matchup vs. No. 7 Huntington Beach with a sweep on Tuesday over Fountain Valley. They were swept in three games the last time they played the Oilers but have a lot of other big wins this season. One was early on against Santa Margarita.
9. (10) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 23-4
Before their big match this week against new No. 1 Mitty, the Wildcats went to the Carmichael Invitational Volleyball Tournament (near Sacramento) and swept through the field with little difficulty. They won in the final over Spanish Springs of Sparks, Nev.
10. (11) Lakewood 25-4
Head coach Mike Wadley’s squad spoiled the hopes of host and previous state No. 4 Torrey Pines by beating the Falcons in the quarterfinals of the California Challenge 25-17, 22-25, 15-12. Lakewood then lost to No. 3 Mater Dei in the semifinals.
11. (3) San Juan Hills (SJ Capistrano) 20-2
This is where we dropped the Stallions after they lost to Marymount in the quarterfinals of the California Challenge. Although their other loss was to Mater Dei and this drop may be harsh, the teams moving up have been equally deserving.
12. (4) Torrey Pines (San Diego) 17-3
In some years, the top CIF San Diego Section teams are on equal terms with the best of the Southern Section. After the Falcons lost to Lakewood last weekend, that’s probably not the case this season. The Falcons did post a huge win already this week over La Costa Canyon to leave no doubt they’re still the best team in San Diego.
13. (13) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 22-4
This weekend is a big one for the Trojans since they are headed to the Stockton Classic’s top division at Delta College on Saturday where they could get a shot at playing new No. 1 Archbishop Mitty.
14. (14) Ventura 19-0
Not only have the Cougars not lost a match this season but they have yet to even lose a set. They improved that total to 50 after a 3-0 win over San Marcos last week. Sammy Slater had 17 kills and Aubrey Knight had 11 kills while sophomore Mary Sinclair had 33 assists. This weekend, they will head to San Diego for a tournament and next weekend they will go to the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
15. (15) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 15-6
The Mavericks went 2-0 in pool play at the California Challenge but then had to play Mater Dei in the quarterfinals of the top division and lost. LCC also lost already this week but it was to No. 12 Torrey Pines and the match went to five games. All of that so no drop in this week’s rankings.
16. (16) Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 17-5
Returning back to California after some losses in Arizona, the Eagles had straight set wins over Tri-City Christian of Vista and Bishop’s of La Jolla. Shining in the win over the Knights, senior Lexi Sun had a double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs on the night while Emily Hubbard was also in double digits with 10 kills. This weekend, Santa Fe Christian will head to the So Cal Invitational where they will play NorCal’s Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove.
17. (17) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) 13-10
Tough losses continue for the Sea Hawks, but we still don’t see any other teams with strong enough resumes to pass them. They fell last week to arch-rival Mira Costa and on Tuesday of this week lost to Marymount, but it was a five-game match.
18. (18) Valley Christian (San Jose) 15-8
The Warriors bounced back from a league loss to Archbishop Mitty to win twice last weekend over Woodside and Half Moon Bay. They also are listed as being in the field for this weekend’s Stockton Classic, which we will be covering.
19. (19) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 19-1
We’ll find out more about the Trailblazers when they play some of the top teams in San Diego and elsewhere at the SDUHSD Invitational. Their only loss so far is to Marymount.
20. (NR) Los Alamitos 15-15
The Griffins fell to this record with a loss on Tuesday of this week vs. No. 7 Huntington Beach. Of their 15 losses, 14 are to higher-ranked teams (some from outside of the state). They also have several quality wins over bubble teams that validates this ranking, including those over Long Beach Poly and Clovis West. Plus, Los Al also has a win over No. 13 Oak Ridge.
Dropped Out:
Previous No. 20 Flintridge Sacred Heart (La Canada).
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
(Some results of bubble teams that played on Tuesday of this week not reported)
Campolindo (Moraga) 18-8
Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 15-4
Clovis 30-6
Clovis West (Fresno) 22-5
Eastlake (Chula Vista) 13-5
Foothill (Pleasanton) 21-4
Harvard-Westlake (N. Hollywood) 11-8
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 15-5
Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 18-4
Menlo-Atherton (Atherton) 15-4
Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 20-3
Presentation (San Jose) 19-7
Rancho Cucamonga 16-7
Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 16-4
St. Francis (Mountain View) 18-8
Temecula Valley (Temecula) 17-2
Tracy 29-3
Stockton office assistant editor Paul Muyskens and SportStars Magazine editor Chace Bryson contributed to these rankings. Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
