PREP VOLLEYBALL PAIRINGS : Sunset League’s Marina Shut Out of Playoffs

Marina girls’ volleyball Coach Jason Bilbruck found out what is worse than a bad draw for the Southern Section playoffs.

Although the Vikings finished tied for third in the Sunset League, arguably one of the strongest leagues in the section, they weren’t invited to the playoffs, which begin today. The Vikings (10-7) tied Esperanza (7-7) for third, splitting their head-to-head matches. But Esperanza won the tie-breaker because it defeated Marina in four games. Marina defeated Esperanza in five.

“It’s in our league constitution that we don’t play a playoff match for third-place ties,” Bilbruck said. “That’s one of the first things I’ll bring up at our league meeting.”

If Marina was playing in Division II, it could have petitioned for one of the two at-large berths. But there were no at-large berths available in Division I.

Newport Harbor (21-1), led by Misty May and Melissa Schutz, is the top-seeded team in Division I. Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (17-0) is seeded second, Laguna Beach (20-3) is third-seeded and Edison (15-1) is fourth-seeded.

Two of the tougher wild-card matches today feature Capistrano Valley (7-7) at Esperanza and South Torrance (12-4) at Huntington Beach (13-3).

The Capistrano Valley-Esperanza winner plays at Newport Harbor in a first-round match Thursday and the South Torrance-Huntington Beach winner plays at Corona del Mar (8-6), the two-time defending State Division I champion.

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Calvary Chapel (12-4), the Olympic League champion that won the section Division V title last season, is top-seeded in Division IV. Courtney Owens and Lynn Lovingier are two of the top returners from last season’s championship team.

In Division V, St. Margaret’s (9-5) is seeded third. Los Angeles Brentwood is top-seeded, North Hills L.A. Baptist is seeded second and Sierra Madre Maranatha is seeded fourth.

The pairings:

Today (Wild-card round)

Division I--Capistrano Valley at Esperanza; South Torrance at Huntington Beach; Thousand Oaks at Mater Dei; University at El Toro.

Division III--Rancho Alamitos at Cypress.

Division IV--Rosary at El Monte Mountain View; Savanna at Orange Lutheran.

Division VI--Corona Christian at Southern California Christian.

Thursday (First round)

Division I--Capistrano Valley-Esperanza winner at Newport Harbor; Laguna Hills at Dana Hills; Redondo-Ventura winner at Edison; South Torrance-Huntington Beach winner at Corona del Mar; Thousand Oaks-Mater Dei winner at Laguna Beach; University-El Toro winner at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.

Division II--Crescenta Valley at La Habra; Downey Warren at Orange; El Modena at Sunny Hills; Troy at Foothill.

Division III--Bell Gardens at Pacifica; Kennedy at Etiwanda; Los Amigos at Katella; Rancho Alamitos-Cypress winner at Whittier La Serna.

Division IV--Colton-Palm Springs winner at Valencia; Elsinore at Tustin; Hemet at Pacifica; Murrieta Valley-Temecula Valley winner at Calvary Chapel; Ocean View at Norwalk; Palm Desert at Brea-Olinda; Rosary-El Monte Mountain View winner at Ojai Nordhoff; Savanna-Orange Lutheran winner at La Mirada; South El Monte at Whittier Christian.

Division V--Hemet West Valley at Capistrano Valley Christian; Inglewood St. Mary’s Academy-Palos Verdes Chadwick winner at St. Margaret’s.

Division VI--Corona Christian-Southern California Christian winner at Hemet Baptist Christian.