STATE GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT : Playoff Pairings Please Two Roommates

There was much merriment on Sunday at the home of Pete West and Jim Downey when the State girls’ volleyball pairings were announced.

West, Mater Dei’s coach, and Downey, Calvary Chapel’s coach, are roommates who learned that their teams had been awarded at-large berths to the tournament and will play first-round matches at 7 tonight.

Mater Dei (20-3) will play Los Angeles Roosevelt (25-1) at East L.A. College in a Division I match and Calvary Chapel (14-3) will play host to Bakersfield Garces (14-3) in a Division IV match.

Mater Dei lost to Laguna Beach (15-3) in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division I tournament on Nov. 14. The Southern Section awarded Mater Dei an at-large berth over two teams, Newport Harbor (12-6), which lost in the Southern Section Division I semifinals to champion Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, and Cerritos (17-4), the Southern Section Division IV runner-up.

The decision was made on the basis of more than 10 criteria, according to Karen Hellyer, Southern Section assistant commissioner. One of the key criteria is head-to-head competition, and Mater Dei beat Newport Harbor in a regular-season match.

Calvary Chapel lost to Brawley (17-2) in the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals on Nov. 14, but was awarded an at-large berth to the State Division IV tournament after teams that finished above the Eagles moved into higher divisions for the State tournament because of enrollment mandates.

“It was a very depressing Tuesday, the night both of us lost, and we have both been playing the waiting game to see if we got in or not,” West said.

The draw surprised many, including Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli.

“To me, it’s just unbelievable that that’s the way they [award at-large berths],” said Ciarelli, whose team was top-ranked all season.

Ciarelli said that he plans to contact Southern Section and state administrators today to protest the decision.