CIF-SS girls volleyball semifinals previews

There are nine CIF-SS girls volleyball semifinals involving county teams. There are four matches between county teams.

Mater Dei-Newport Harbor in 1AA; Corona del Mar-Laguna Beach in 1A; St. Margaret's-Crean Lutheran in 4AA and Saddleback Valley Christian-Connelly in 4A.

All matches scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Division 1AA
Mater Dei (Trinity League, 2, 26-8) at Newport Harbor (Sunset League 3, 24-8)
Road to the semis: Mater Dei swept Trabuco Hills, Santa Barbara and def. Edison in four; Newport Harbor swept Westlake, Notre Dame and Orange Lutheran
Outlook: This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. It comes at a time when both appear to be playing at their best. Passing and defense carried the Monarchs to their four-game upset of top-seeded Edison. The Sailors continued their hot play with their third consecutive sweep, eliminating Orange Lutheran in the quarterfinals. Cinnamon Sary has been the key through the playoffs. Sary, who signed with USC last week, is averaging 17 kills a match in the playoffs. This will be the third consecutive home match for the Sailors.

No. 3 Dos Pueblos (Channel League champ, 27-5) at No. 2 Los Alamitos (Sunset League, 2, 33-3)
Road to semis: Dos Pueblos swept Redondo Union and San Clemente; Los Alamitos swept Palos Verdes, Louisville and Thousand Oaks
Outlook: This is the way the bottom half of the bracket was supposed to play out with the second seed (Griffins) facing the third-seeded Chargers. Los Alamitos is already a winner, having won the coin flip and having the match at home. Since being swept by Edison in the final regular season match, the Griffins have been able to refocus on the task of winning a CIF title. The Griffins have breezed through the first three rounds, sweeping all opponents. Dos Pueblos had a first-round bye, but has also swept its playoffs matches (Redondo Union and San Clemente). Somebody will lose their first game of the playoffs in this match.

Division 1A
No. 2 Corona del Mar (Pacific Coast League champ, 30-3) at No. 3 Laguna Beach (Orange Coast League champ, 23-6)
Road to the semis: Corona del Mar swept Brea Olinda, Marlborough and Upland; Laguna Beach swept Glendora, Valencia and Murrieta Valley
Outlook: To no one’s surprise, these longtime rivals are meeting in the semifinals. This will be the ninth meeting in the playoffs between the teams. The series is tied at 4-4. This is Laguna Beach’s 25th trip to the semifinals. CdM has made 27 appearances. This will be the second match of the season between the teams. CdM defeated Laguna Beach in four games back on Sept. 13. Alyse Wallace Ford led Laguna Beach in that match with 22 kills. Hayley Hodson led CdM with 12 kills, Grace Kennedy and Britton Taylor had 10 apiece.

Division 2AA
Tesoro (Sea View League champ, 23-6) at No. 2 St. Lucy’s (Sierra League champ, 25-6)
Road to the semis: Tesoro defeated Norco in four; swept Chino Hills and Oaks Christian; St. Lucy’s swept Centennial and defeated San Marino and Aliso Niguel in four.
Outlook: The Titans clinched their first league title and they’re still around to make their first ever CIF-SS semifinal appearance. Tesoro swept Oaks Christian, the Tri-Valley League champion in the quarterfinals. This will be the second Sierra League team that the Titans will have faced in the playoffs. Tesoro swept Chino Hills in the second round. St. Lucy’s has won four consecutive matches, including a four-game victory over Aliso Niguel in the quarterfinals.

Division 2A
Oxnard (Pacific View, 2, 21-17) at Whittier Christian (Olympic League champ, 24-2)
Road to the semis: Oxnard defeated Valley Christian and Burroughs in four; swept No. 3 Bonita; Whittier Christian swept Burbank and defeated Troy in four
Outlook: The Heralds advanced to the semifinals last season before losing to eventual champion Troy. The teams met again in the quarterfinals, with Whittier Christian winning in four to advance. Oxnard pulled off a big upset when it swept third-seeded Bonita in the quarterfinals. Kylee Wolfe had 18 kills against Troy. Deanna Blaine had 16 and Jaclyn Barrera added 10. Jaden Louie runs the show, she tallied 44 assists. The winner will face either top-seeded Downey or fourth-seeded Palm Springs in the finals.

Division 3AA
Western (Empire League champ, 14-3) at No. 1 Chadwick (24-1)
Road to the semis: Western swept Cabrillo of Lompoc; Cajon and defeated Mayfield of Pasadena in five; Chadwick defeated Granite Hills in 4; swept Beverly Hills and Mayfair
Outlook: The Pioneers extended their stay in the playoffs with their five-game victory over Mayfield of Pasadena in the quarters. Mayfield had defeated the fourth-seed Culver City in the first round. Chadwick has won 12 consecutive matches, including consecutive sweeps in the playoffs.

Division 4AA
No. 4 Sage Hill (Academy Leage, 2, 16-8) at No. 1 Viewpoint (Liberty League champ, 20-4)
Road to the semis: swept Chino, Desert Hot Springs and St. Paul; Serra in four; Viewpoint swept Loara and defeated Colony in five
Outlook: Things went the way they were expected in the top half of the bracket with the fourth seed (Lightning) and top-seeded (Patriots) meeting. Viewpoint had a scare in the quarterfinals against Colony, but rallied to the victory by winning the fourth and fifth games. Sage Hill is vying to make it an all-Academy League final. St. Margaret’s and Crean Lutheran are facing each other in the other semifinal. Sage Hill has swept all three of its opponents so far in the playoffs.

No. 3 St. Margaret’s (Academy League champ, 19-9) at Crean Lutheran (Academy League, 3, 17-5)
Road to the semis: St. Margaret’s swept Don Lugo and Patriot; Crean Lutheran swept Holy Martyrs, defeated Yucca Valley and Serra
Outlook: Academy League foes face off in the bottom half of the bracket. Crean Lutheran, in just its third year as a varsity program, upset second-seeded Serra of Gardena in the quarterfinals. St. Margaret’s, the defending champion, had a first-round by and then swept its next two opponents. St. Margaret’s won both meetings during the regular season. The Tartans swept Crean Lutheran in the first meeting (Oct. 4). The second meeting went five games (Oct. 21). Crean Lutheran won two of the first three games, but the Tartans closed the match by winning the fourth and fifth games. St. Margaret's is looking for its sixth CIF title. Last season, St. Margaret's defeated Brethren Christian in the finals. St. Margaret's setter Emily Moore has committed to NYU.

Division 4A
Saddleback Valley Christian (San Joaquin League, 2, 18-3) vs. Connelly (San Joaquin League, 3, 14-13) at American Sports Center, Anaheim
Road to the semis: SVC swept West Valley, defeated Duarte in five and defeated Frazier Mountain in four; Connelly defeated San Jacinto in four; swept Milken and Grace Brethren.
Outlook: SVC and Connelly meet for a spot in the finals and with a score to settle. The teams split their two league meetings this season. SVC won the first contest in four (Sept. 30). Connelly returned the favor with a five-game victory, Oct. 25. SVC starts five freshmen, after losing four starters from last year’s team. The teams also met in the 5AA final two years ago, with Connelly winning. The winner will face either Hemet or Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica in the semifinals. Pacifica Christian upset fourth-seeded Fairmont Prep in the quarterfinals or it could have been three San Joaquin League teams in the semifinals.