La Jolla and Poway Begin Their Title Defenses Tonight

Defending champions La Jolla and Poway high schools are seeded first in their divisions as the San Diego Section volleyball playoffs get under way tonight.

La Jolla (24-2) is top-seeded in the 2-A division, which it has won the last three years. Poway (27-3) is favored to repeat as 3-A champion.

Poway, the Palomar League co-champion with Mount Carmel, plays host to Serra (13-13), which finished second in the City Eastern League.

Also seeded in the 3-A division are No. 2 Sweetwater (19-6), No. 3 Grossmont (17-4) and No. 4 Point Loma (17-4).

Sweetwater, the Metro-Mesa champion, plays host to Grossmont League runner-up Granite Hills (20-6), while Grossmont, which won the Grossmont League, plays host to Mount Carmel (26-6). Point Loma opens at home with Bonita Vista (17-8), the Metro-Mesa runner-up.

La Jolla, which won the City Western League for the 11th consecutive year, opens play at home against City Central runner-up Our Lady of Peace (8-2).

Seeded second among 2-A teams is San Pasqual (17-6), which won the Avocado League, followed by Metro-South Bay champion Marian (18-9) and City Central titlist Christian (12-8).

San Pasqual plays host to Mar Vista (16-8), the Metro-South Bay runner-up. Marian plays host to University (8-2), the second-place team from the City Western, and Christian faces Escondido, the Avocado runner-up, at Christian.