SD Prep Sports:

2006 Fall Sports
Grossmont Conference

San Diego Section Playoff Previews

Valhalla the 'digs' in girls volleyball;
Granite Hills making waves in boys water polo

The San Diego Section playoffs have either started, or are set to begin, for this year’s fall sports teams. A new playoff selection process is sure to create its share of scrutiny despite the format change in an effort to eliminate the good deal of controversy that annually seems to accompany the list of postseason qualifiers.

Girls tennis
Team playoffs in three divisions began Tuesday, Oct. 31. East County qualifiers included Grossmont (Division I), Valhalla, Steele Canyon and West Hills (Division II) and Christian (Division III).

Grossmont finished 8-0 in Grossmont North League play and took an 11-5 overall record into its first-round pairing against Vista (15-5). The winner was to advance to the quarterfinals against third-seeded Fallbrook (15-3).

Valhalla finished 9-1 in Grossmont South League play, 14-1 overall, to earn the third seed in the Division II playoffs and was set to host the winner between Serra (12-1) and Brawley (17-4) in the quarterfinals.

Steele Canyon, finished 7-3 in league play, took a 12-3 overall record into its first-round matchup against top-seeded Westview (10-7). West Hills (6-2 in league, 9-5 overall) was paired against Mt. Carmel (5-12) in its opener.

Christian, which finished a perfect 11-0 in regular season play, was paired against Santa Fe Christian (7-7) in the opening round, with the winner to advance against top-seeded La Jolla (11-2).

The team format features first round (Oct. 31), quarterfinals (Nov. 1), semifinals (Nov. 2) and finals (2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, at the Barnes Family Tennis Center in Point Loma).

Individual championship playoffs are scheduled Nov. 13-17 at the Barnes Tennis Center. First- and second-round pairings are Nov. 13-14, with third round and quarterfinals following on Nov. 16, semifinals on Nov. 16 and championship round matches on Nov. 17.

Torrey Pines (21-1) and Rancho Bernardo (14-5) earned the top two seeds in the Division I playoffs. Westview (10-7) and San Pasqual (13-4) were the top two seeds in the Division II playoffs while La Jolla (11-2) and Cathedral Catholic (12-3) earned the top two seeds in the Division III playoffs.

Girls field hockey
Postseason competition will take place in two divisions Nov. 13-18. Each division will be comprised of 12 qualifying teams, which will be seeded without regard to league championship status. Pairings will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.

First-round play is set to begin in both Division I and Division II on Saturday, Nov. 11. Games are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the site of the higher seeded team.

Quarterfinal-round competition in Division I is scheduled on Monday, Nov. 13, followed by opening round play in Division II on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Starting time is 3 p.m. both days.

Semifinals are slated on Wednesday, Nov. 15 (Division I), and Thursday, Nov. 16 (Division II), at the choice of the higher-seeded team. The divisional championship matches are scheduled Saturday, Nov. 18, at Scripps Ranch High School (3 p.m. for Division I and 5:30 p.m. for Division II).

El Capitan and Helix have been East County notables all season. The Highlanders have been a mainstay in the weekly San Diego County coaches poll, with the Vaqueros pushing for inclusion each week.

The two Grossmont Conference powers met in the opener of league play on Oct. 11, with El Capitan scoring a 4-3 overtime victory. The Vaqueros received two goals from Amanda Combs and single goals from Heather Swanson and Carla Boek while Helix received goals from Sarah Trevino, Lindsay Matteson and Leigh Rutherford.

The teams were scheduled to rematch on Oct. 30. League play concludes Friday, Nov. 8.

Top section teams heading into the final week of October included La Costa Canyon (16-0), Torrey Pines (17-2), Serra (14-4-1), Scripps Ranch (13-4-1), San Pasqual (13-3), University City (11-2), Vista (9-8-1), Rancho Buena Vista (7-7-2) and Westview (10-4).

La Costa Canyon and Torrey Pines were the top two ranked teams in Division I while Serra and University City were the top two ranked teams in Division II.

Boys water polo
Two 16-teams divisions, each based on school enrollment size, will constitute this year’s section playoff field. Opening-round action starts Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Division II, and Thursday, Nov. 9, in Division I, at the home pool of the higher-seeded team.

Two quadruple-headers will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11, at La Jolla High School. Division II game times are 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Division I game times are 1:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

Semifinals are scheduled at the same site on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (5:45 and 7:30 p.m. for Division II), and Wednesday, Nov. 15 (5:45 and 7:30 p.m. for Division I).

This year’s championship game double-header is scheduled Saturday, Nov. 18, at La Jolla High School, with the Division II title contest at 5 p.m. and the Division I final at 7:30 p.m.)

Granite Hills defeated Valhalla, 10-9, on Oct. 17 to retain their first-place lead in Grossmont South League play. Remington McKittrick and Jeremy Atkinson each scored three goals to lead the Eagles, who improved to 17-3 overall, 5-0 in league play with the key win.

Granite Hills finished up play in this year’s San Diego Open tournament with a 14-9 consolation game victory against Patrick Henry after dropping a 16-8 quarterfinal matchup against eventual tourney champion Bishop’s.

Sean Little earned a berth on the all-tournament team for the Eagles, who entered the tournament ranked fourth among the section’s Division I schools behind Carlsbad (first), Torrey Pines (second) and Bonita Vista (third).

Bonita Vista edged Granite Hills, 11-10, in the teams’ San Diego Open tournament opener on Oct. 26 while the Eagles dropped a 12-10 decision against Torrey Pines.

Bishop’s defeated Torrey Pines, 14-7, to win this year’s tournament title.

Granite Hills and Valhalla were to rematch Nov. 2in league play. The Norsemen owned a 10-7 overall record following the first-round loss to the Eagles.

Top Grossmont North League teams this season include Santana, Grossmont and El Capitan. Santana entered this year’s San Diego Open ranked fourth among the section’s Division II teams while Grossmont defeated El Capitan, 11-5, in the final day of competition the San Diego Open on Oct. 28.

Top teams this year in Division II include Bishop’s, Coronado and La Jolla, not necessarily in that order.

Girls volleyball
The playoff format features five divisions, starting with opening-round play in Division I, Division III and Division IV on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and opening-round play in Division II and Division V on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Quarterfinals follow on Nov. 9-10, with semifinals scheduled for Nov. 14-15. Championship games are scheduled Nov. 18 in all five divisions on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Cathedral Catholic High School.

Title games are scheduled at 10:30 a.m. (Division V), 12:45 p.m. (Division IV), 3 p.m. (Division III), 5:15 p.m. (Division II) and 7:30 p.m. (Division I).

The state championship game is scheduled Dec. 2 at San Jose State University.

Sixteen teams will qualify in Division I and Division II and 12 each in Division III, Division IV and Division V.

Grossmont, keyed by Rachel Blair’s team-high 15 kills, defeated West Hills 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-13 on Oct. 25 to claim this year’s Grossmont North League championship. The Foothillers, who ended an 11-year run of league supremacy by the Wolf Pack, will compete in the Division II playoffs.

Valhalla defeated Westview, the top-ranked team among Division II schools, en route to a runner-up finish in the Granite Hills All-Counties tournament on Oct. 21. The Norsemen improved their season record to 24-5 after the tournament and were unbeaten in Grossmont South League competition with three matches remaining to be played.

Team leaders for Valhalla in the tourney included Jamie Justo, Kelly Balanay and Dana Burkey.

The Norsemen advanced to last year’s Division II semifinals before falling to eventual division champion Scripps Ranch.

Top teams across the section this year include La Costa Canyon, Torrey Pines and Carlsbad in Division I; Mt. Carmel, Valhalla and Westview in Division II; Cathedral Catholic, San Dieguito Academy and La Jolla in Division III; Francis Parker, Bishop’s and Santa Fe Christian in Division IV; and Tri-City Christian in Division V.

Both La Costa and Francis Parker were ranked 59th in the national rankings by PrepVolleyball.com as of Oct. 19.

Girls Golf
This year’s team and individual tournament is scheduled Nov. 7-8 at Singing Hills. Teams designated as No. 1 by their teams receive guaranteed entry. At-large entries will be determined by the section office.

The Southern California Golf Association regional championship will take place Nov. 13 in Murrieta. The state championship tournament is scheduled Nov. 14 in Rancho Cucamonga.