Providence volleyball heads to San Diego Point Loma for state opener

It was and is a season that will go down as one of the greatest in the chronicle of the Providence High girls’ volleyball program.

Upon its advancement to the CIF Southern Section Division VIII semifinals, Providence guaranteed itself a spot in the CIF State Division IV playoffs.

But as was prognosticated, the Pioneers will have a long drive, a daunting opponent in front of them and an arduous task to overcome if they are to continue their memorable season past Wednesday evening.

On Sunday afternoon, the CIF State office unveiled the state brackets across five divisions with Providence tabbed as the 15th seed and headed south to take on second-seeded San Diego Point Loma in the Southern California Regional first round at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“I was expecting a low seed,” Pioneers Coach James Jimenez said. “I think we’re playing one of the toughest teams in the tournament.

“It’s going to be a very tough match.”

Fresh off advancing to the program’s second semifinal appearance, the Pioneers will make their state debut.

“We’re enjoying the ride,” Jimenez said. “Getting to the state playoffs is a great accomplishment for this team.”

Point Loma (20-12) lost in the quarterfinals of the San Diego Section Division I playoffs to eventual champion Del Norte in four games. Del Notre is the No. 5 seed in the Division II Southern California Regional. The Pointers finished second in the City Western League, which was won by Cathedral Catholic, the No. 1 seed in the Division II SoCal bracket.

Junior Charlie Ekstrom has led the Pointers’ attack with 371 kills, according to Maxpreps.com, or four per set. Four other players have 120 or more kills, as setters Reese Turner and Maggie Wolf have each dished out more than 430 assists.

Following a third-place finish in the Liberty League, Providence (20-8) advanced to the Southern Section Division VIII semifinals, where it lost to Katella, the division runner-up.

Keying the Pioneers for much of the season have been senior All-Liberty League selections Alyssa Camacho (683 assists, 272 digs) and Ava Midkoff (237 kills, 73 blocks), but they have received valuable contributions from all over, such as junior transfer Talia Patterson (136 kills, 126 digs), senior Irish Degorio (336 digs) and junior Giselle Camonayan (133 kills, 287 digs, 52 aces), among others.

Providence’s semifinal loss was on Tuesday, meaning Providence will have been without a match for a week when it takes to the court in San Diego. But, the Pioneers have been fast at work.

“As soon as we knew that we were in state, we had practices scheduled,” Jimenez said.

If the Pioneers pull off the upset, they’ll be on the road again for Saturday’s second-round match at No. 7 Grace Brethren (21-6), the aforementioned Division VIII Southern Section champion, or No. 10 Eagle Rock (21-17), a City Section Open Division quarterfinalist.

“Win or lose, it’s a great thing,” Jimenez said of getting to the state dance. “And, obviously, we’re going to go in there to give it our best and hopefully win, but no matter what happens, it’s been a great ride.”