Poly, Sylmar Seeded Behind No. 1 Palisades

Poly High and Sylmar, chained to the City Section 3-A Division playoffs for so many years, now get to play with the big people.

In a new playoff format that eradicates the rigidity of the 4-A and 3-A divisions, Poly (12-1) was seeded No. 2 and Sylmar (12-1) was seeded No. 3 in the City Championship bracket, which groups together the top 16 teams in the City Section.

Palisades (13-0), the champion in the 4-A Division last year, was seeded No. 1 in the City Championship bracket.

Taft (7-4) was seeded No. 2 in the Division Championship bracket, which theoretically contains teams 17 through 32.

Sylmar, which tied Poly for the Valley Pac-8 Conference title, hosts No. 14 El Camino Real when first-round matches begin Monday.

“I just hope we’re competitive,” said Coach Jimmy Ikeda of Poly, whose Parrots won the 3-A title last season.

“We know it’s going to be a lot different than last year in the sense that every round is going to be challenging. I hope our girls are ready to play.”

Poly will host Bravo Medical, seeded No. 15, in the first round.

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Sweet 16

City Section girls’ volleyball playoff pairings:

CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

* Monroe at Palisades; Granada Hills at Van Nuys; Westchester at Garfield; Franklin at Venice; El Camino Real at Sylmar; Bell at Narbonne; San Pedro at Chatsworth; Bravo Medical at Poly.

DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

* L.A. CES at Marshall; Reseda at Carson; Cleveland at North Hollywood; Canoga Park at Fremont; Banning at Huntington Park; Fairfax at Eagle Rock; Foshay at University; Manuel Arts at Taft.

All games at 7 p.m. Monday.

*

Cardinal commitment: Billy Strickland of Harvard-Westlake High, the No. 1 recruit in the region, has committed to Stanford.

Strickland, a 6-foot-9 outside hitter who is considered one of the top five prospects in the nation, chose the Cardinal over UCLA and Pepperdine.