They Forgot to Check a Road Atlas

High school volleyball coaches weren’t thrilled when this “regionalization” thing became official.

They’re still not. And on top of it, they’re confused.

When Southern Section playoff pairings came out Sunday, they were supposed to make geographic sense. The point of regionalization, as voted on by Southern Section school administrators, was to save travel expenses by matching schools in close proximity.

Instead, there were some head-scratchers for the playoffs.

In Division I-AA, Quartz Hill traveled to Royal on Tuesday, a distance of nearly 90 miles. And in Division IV-AA, Flintridge Sacred Heart begins first-round action Thursday by playing host to the winner of a wild-card match between Big Bear and Beaumont.

On the other extreme, some teams saved travel expenses, but with a sacrifice. In the first round, they’ll face a league rival for the third time this season.

In Division I-A, Saugus, which finished second in the Foothill League, defeated third-place Canyon. They split two regular-season matches.

The winner faces league champion Hart in the second round.

In Division IV-AA, Tri-Valley champion La Reina hosts third-place St. Bonaventure on Thursday. They played twice this season. La Reina won both.

“I think the concept was great when they initially sat down and said this was what to do to cut down travel,” St. Bonaventure Coach Steve Berk said. “They didn’t put down on paper that some leagues have the only teams in the region. There’s no other league we could have matched up with, except to go into L.A. somewhere and that defeats the purpose.

“In my 25 years of coaching, I’ve never seen this done in the first round. Maybe in the second or third round, you go back to your own league, but the excitement is to play somebody new.”

Harvard-Westlake Coach Jess Quiroz and Royal Coach Bob Ferguson were stunned when they first heard the new format in June.

“I think somebody flunked geography,” Quiroz said.

Southern Section Assistant Commissioner Karen Hellyer, who attended the seeding meeting Sunday, is preaching patience.

“The schools wanted it and voted it in,” Hellyer said. “Here it is.”