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7:48 pm

TO Loyola. Costa up 20-16 gm1

7:47 pm

16-14 Costa gm1

7:42 pm

11-9 Costa gm1

7:38 pm

Tied 5 gm1

7:34 pm

Game time!

7:25 pm

National Anthem and introduction time.

6:56 pm

The time has come. Loyola and Costa on the court warming up.

Exciting times.

6:26 pm

Cathedral downs Santa Monica in 5, 18-16, for D4 championship.

6:20 pm

Oak Park 25-21 gm4. Oak Park claims first CIF title in bvball!

6:17 pm

20-15 Oak gm4

6:14 pm

17-13 Oak Park gm4

6:11 pm

TO CdM. Oak Park up 13-10 gm4.

Sea Kings in trouble. Oak Park is clicking. Playing well

6:10 pm

Tied 10 gm4

6:05 pm

6-4 CdM gm4

5:56 pm

Oak Park 25-17 gm3. Oak Park leads CdM 2-1.

5:55 pm

Mira Costa arrives.

5:55 pm

22-16 Oak Park gm3

5:50 pm

TO CdM. All Oak Park in gm3. Eagles up 20-11.

Eagles great in transition so far.

5:48 pm

16-10 Oak gm3

5:45 pm

11-9 Oak Park gm3

5:42 pm

Loyola is in the building

5:40 pm

6-4 CdM gm3

5:33 pm

Mike Campbell quick off block. Oak Park 25-22 gm2. Match tied 1-1.

Excellent match so far. Not totally clean, but crazy exciting and close throughout.

5:27 pm

TO CdM. Oak Park ahead 21-19 gm2.

Strong play from Bradley Sakaida

5:25 pm

18-17 CdM gm2

5:23 pm

Tied 15 gm2

5:20 pm

TO Oak Park. CdM up 14-12 gm2 after Jack Reed block.

5:17 pm

Tied 10 gm2

5:13 pm

6-4 Oak Park gm2

5:06 pm

Parker Brown off the triple block. CdM 25-22 gm1. Leads Oak Park 1-0.

Great match. Little sloppy.

5:04 pm

TO Oak Park. CdM up 24-22 gm1

5:02 pm

22-21 CdM gm1

5:00 pm

TO CdM. CdM holds narrow 20-19 lead in gm1.

CdM was up 19-16 and 20-17.

4:56 pm

16-14 CdM gm1

4:51 pm

TO Oak Park. Some mistakes to start costing Oak Park. This is the nerve games. Gotta get them worked out.

4:49 pm

11-9 CdM gm1

4:45 pm

Tied 5 gm1

4:40

Westview 25-23 gm4. Westview beats LCC 3-1 to win D2 title.

Chadwick beat Viewpoint earlier in D5.

Cathedral wins gm1 over Santa Monica

4:36 pm

Intros underway

4:26 pm

Under 6 minutes till action

4:14 pm

La Costa Canyon 26-24 gm3. Westview leads 2-1.

4:11 pm

About 20 minutes until D2 final between Oak Park and Corona del Mar

3:48 pm

Westview 25-21 gm2. Leads LCC 2-0

3:37 pm

South 25-21 gm 4. South wins 3-1.

South first CIF title in school history for boys volleyball.

3:35 pm

TO South. South up 23-20 gm4

3:31 pm

21-14 South gm4

3:28 pm

17-13 South gm4

3:26 pm

TO South. Spartans still up 14-12 gm4, but Warren coming on.

3:24 pm

Westview 25-16 gm1. Westview leads La Costa Canyon 1-0 in SDS D2 final.

3:21 pm

Vinnie Rios ace, South leads 11-7 gm4. TO Warren.

3:18 pm

6-4 South gm4

3:10 pm

Warren 25-20 gm3. South leads 2-1.

Much better energy from Warren. South team that started making errors that game.

Brand new match now.

3:07 pm

TO Warren. South on charge, but Warren still up 21-18 gm3.

3:04 pm

TO South. Warren lead extends to 19-13 gm3. South up in match 2-0.

3:03 pm

17-13 Warren gm3

2:56 pm

Warren showing life. Bears lead 11-7 gm3. TO South.

Warren digging some balls and scoring in transition

2:53 pm

Gm3 tied at 5

2:47 pm

Andy Gage off the block and South takes gm2 25-18. Leads Warren 2-0.

Warren is going to regret this match. Bears just aren’t playing today. Nerves getting best of them. Still time to turn it around, but no margin for errors now.

South middles playing big and libero Vinnie Rios doing swell job.

2:44 pm

CdM in the building

2:42 pm

TO Warren. South up 20-16.

South is playing steady, but not spectacular. Warren is own worst enemy at moment. Too many errors.

2:40 pm

16-14 South gm2.

Warren closing.

2:37 pm

12-8 South gm2

2:33 pm

TO Warren. South up 9-4 gm2.

Warren hasn’t settled in at all. Still looks nervous, struggling with ball control.

2:32 pm

7-3 South gm2

2:24 pm

South 25-22 gm1. Leads Warren 1-0.

Peter Nordel and Garrett Niida with stuff block to put South up, 23-20.

Warren’s Alfonso Mata kill and stuff block to cut it to 24-22, but NiIda’s winner ended it as Warren was called for a net violation.

2:21 pm

TO Warren. South up 22-20 after Warren net violation.

2:20 pm

Tied 20 gm1

2:18 pm

TO South. South still up 19-18 gm1.

Cathedral is also here, but I hope the Phantoms know they are playing in gym1 and not gym2.

2:15 pm

16-14 South gm1

2:11 pm

11-9 South gm1

2:07 pm

Tied 5 gm1 Warren-South

2:04 pm

More CIF quirkiness.

South is designated home team but is visitor on scoreboard? Huh? C’mon CIF!

2:03 pm

Breaking news! Scoreboard is on. Now does it work?

2:02 pm

Screw the scoreboard. Here we go.

1:58 pm

Wow. No working scoreboard for CIF finals. Not even a flip score in site.

Did they just test it today. No one was here last night?

1:55 pm

Not sure what’s going to happen, but we are starting in gym2 without a scoreboard to show the score of the match. Crazy. Not the buzzer is sounding and no one can stop it.

Gotta love CIF!

1:54 pm

Tied 23 in gym 1.

Scoreboard still not fixed in gym2. So still seeing scores from gym1.

1:37 pm

Warren and South on court warming up.

The scoreboard says 3-3. That’s because the scoreboard isn’t working in Gym 2 and is actually displaying the scoreboard reading in the other gym, Gym 1, where Chadwick and Viewpoint are playing.

Just another CIF championship event!

Hopefully the scoreboard issue gets resolved. That’s a major problem.

I have already volunteered to flip score cards if needed. Serious.

Now it’s 6-6 in the other gym. To bad not sure which team is which. 7-6 gm1. Not sure who is winning.

First serve in gym2 scheduled for 2 pm.

That much is guaranteed after Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 3 final between No. 1 Warren and No. 2 South.

Neither program has ever gone the distance.

Only South’s been there before, once, in 2010.

What the teams lack in history is sure to be made up with intensity, if the tournament meeting between the pair three weeks ago was an accurate preview. Warren downed South in three games, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9, at the Redondo Power Classic to take over the No. 1 spot in the division.

“I think if we played 10 times, we would split 5-5. That’s how I feel,” South coach Kevin McElwee said. “It’s going to be an exciting and pretty evenly played match. For us, it’s a matter of keeping calm in pressure situations. We need to stay in system. At the tournament, the match was back and forth. They served really well and we hadn’t seen that. For us, we need to stay in system and not let them serve us off the court.”

South was swept by El Segundo last time it reached the finals. The Spartans were within a victory of getting back there last season, but were eliminated by Burroughs in four games in the semifinals.

Burroughs and South met twice in the regular season before hooking up a third time in Tuesday’s semifinals. Burroughs won the first meeting in tournament play in three games, with South winning the nonleague meeting in four games. That win put South No. 1 in the division at the time.

Heading into the semifinals, McElwee wanted his team to focus on staying consistent and not get caught up in the emotional game of its opponent. South is taking a similar strategy against Warren, which plays with a fiery attitude much like Burroughs.

“We are not a big yell and scream team,” McElwee said. “We just want to stay at a high level and not get caught up in that. In the nonleague meeting (against Burroughs) we did a good job of it. On Tuesday, we got down 5-0 and 8-2 right away. I didn’t call a timeout. I just thought we needed to start playing. We have five seniors. We’ve been there before. We try to not let the moment get to us.”

Two years ago Warren lost in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs.

Last year, Warren went out in the second round, losing by two points in the fifth game.

Now the Bears find themselves one victory away from changing its program forever. It’s something Warren coach Brad Simons thought was possible, but didn’t want to get ahead of himself.

“I thought last year was the year, then we lost a guy to injury,” he said. “If we could stay healthy, I definitely thought we had a chance.”

Warren’s victory over South set into motion this postseason clash.

At the time, Simons knew if Warren could beat South the Bears would take the No. 1 spot. That would relegate South and Burroughs meeting in the semifinals.

“I knew that would put us No. 1 and seeing the other teams at the time, I thought our best shot would be to have South and Burroughs play each other,” Simons said. “I thought at the time we would see South in the playoffs at some point. We are super excited to be there. We’ve been preparing for this for three years. This group’s been together since sophomores.”

Neither team shied away from their respective nonleague schedules.

South played against Division 1 teams in Palos Verdes (twice), Mira Costa and Dana Hills, but came up short. However, Warren enjoyed success against Division 1 teams like Lakewood, Long Beach Poly and St. John Bosco. The Bears also faced Loyola.

It’s that type of competition that will have each squad prepared for Saturday’s encounter.

“We played well against Loyola,” Simons said. “That’s what I talked to the boys about. We can’t go have a letdown after playing like that. That’s what we are capable of.”

Loyola and Mira Costa huddle up before their nonleague match earlier this season. The teams will be on the same court Saturday in the CIF-SS Division 1 final. (Photo: Jeff Antenore)

(Division 1 final preview)

The guy in a Westside Rental uniform sat on the bench, a few feet away from the Mira Costa drum line.

Anytime the band starting jamming during stoppage time, he would coolie slide his puffy white gloves on and break out into wild dance.

Despite being in the middle of a semifinal showdown, it caught the attention of the Mira Costa coaches and players.

“We don’t know who he is,” Mira Costa coach Mike Ninnis said. “That’s the first time we’ve seen him all year. None of the players know who he is.”

If only the same thing could be said of Saturday night’s CIF-SS Division 1 championship opponent in Loyola.

The teams know exactly who and what they are dealing with.

Nevertheless, the Westside Rental dancer is the perfect example of what happens in these types of situations. The characters show up and you don’t know what to expect when they do.

“You still have to go out and play,” Loyola coach Michael Boehle said about what it comes down to. “I think there’s mutual respect between the teams. Whichever is better is going to win that night. We are both very good volleyball teams. The best in high school I think. It stinks one of us is going to lose. It really does.

“We are going to both be judged by this one match. No one remembers anything before. They’ll just remember this last match. That’s what’s going to happen. We just try to keep the kids focused and have them play with everything they got and play the way they are supposed to play.”

Saturday marks the third time the programs will meet in a CIF championship match. The most recent came in 2010.

Loyola owns two previous victories over Mira Costa this season.

One came at the Best of the West and the other during the annual nonleague meeting. A third victory Saturday would cement Loyola’s season as one of the best in history. Not only would it give Loyola its third victory over its rival, but it would push its finals record to a perfect 12-0.

However, should Loyola lose for the first time in finals history and Mira Costa pick up its seventh title overall, Loyola’s season will mostly be overlooked even though the Cubs are likely destined for the CIF Division 1 So Cal Regionals and could conceivably finish with only two losses.

Mira Costa is in a similar position.

A recent lineup switch has given Mira Costa added confidence that this meeting with Loyola will be different from the first two. However, a loss Saturday and the switches won’t mean much. The Mustangs’ season would also get lost in the mix.

“Our objective is to do our best to win this match,” Ninnis said. “It’s great that we are there, but our work is not done. There’s not a lack of motivation.”

One of the biggest keys prior to the match is blocking out all the extra stuff.

In the day and age of social media, it’s tougher than ever. Throw in how well the teams know each other and the fact the kids play with each other on club teams and there’s a big potential for trouble in that regard.

“It’s so hard,” Boehle said. “I don’t pay attention to it. I meet with my guys about it and make sure they understand if I find out they are posting anything on Facebook or whatever, they are done. I make a point. I stress it to them. I don’t want them getting caught up in it.”

The team that’s able to get past all the press, the hype and move onto volleyball gains an immediate advantage.

After all, that’s why any of this is going on in the first place.

“I try to keep things normal and go about the same routine,” Ninnis said. “You don’t want to get too wrapped up in it. We want to keep them focused. It’s why you go out and compete, because ultimately it’s a game. It’s why we compete. It should be fun.”

The CIF-SS Division 2 championship match is a lot like a scene from the movie Super Troopers.

The city police and highway patrol are fighting for territory, but that doesn’t stop a pair of them from falling in love with each other. They must meet secretly, and thus we arrive at the above clip.

They agreed to meet incognito, as bikers.

As you can see by one showing up as Harley girl and the other as Lance Armstrong, the same thing can sometimes leave you feeling like polar opposites.

Take Oak Park and Corona del Mar for example.

They will meet at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College, both labeled finalists but arriving as Harley girl and Lance Armstrong.

The odd couple to be sure.

There is one Southern Section team that will have played in more CIF finals than Corona del Mar by the time Saturday is over.

The Sea Kings are making their 12^th championship appearance, having compiled a 7-4 record in title matches.

Only three other programs have played in at least 10 CIF finals – Mira Costa, Laguna Beach and Loyola. Mira Costa will be making its 13^th finals appearance Saturday night when it faces Loyola, which will tie Corona del Mar with 12 finals appearances when it faces the Mustangs in the Division 1 final. Laguna Beach has played in 10.

Saturday will count as Oak Park’s fifth finals match in school history. It’s made more impressive by the fact the Eagles’ first finals came in 2006 in Division 4.

Oak Park is making its first Division 2 finals showing, but is still seeking its first CIF title.

It’ll be senior Bradley Sakaida’s third final. Sakaida was one of seven sophomores on the team that lost to Norco for the second time in two seasons n 2010. The others included setter Sam Saltman, middles Matt Woo, Jake Rice and Michael Campbell, outside Justin Parks and opposite Peter Massey.

All are seniors now and Oak Park coach Patrick Quinn is counting on their leadership Saturday.

“We have been to the CIF finals before, most of them as sophomores,” he said. “Last year having no seniors, it showed a little bit. This year, I’m hoping that is the difference maker for us. We have been there before and we have a lot of senior leadership. I’m hoping that plays a part. I think the team that wins the match is the team that’s able to win the close games.”

As the defending champion, Corona del Mar not only knows what to expect, but has the confidence of having won last year.

Four players – Parker Brown, Joe Ctvrtlik, Jack Reed and Remy Lammons – from that team will start Saturday. They understand what it takes to win a CIF championship and just as Quinn is banking on his seniors, Corona del Mar coach Steve Conti is going to count on his.

“With some of the kids going to Cypress last year and being part of that match, they are pretty excited to be back,” he said. “They understand the opportunity of being there. I think they are more excited about being there than which team they are playing. We don’t try to look at our opponent and make it personal, but it’ll be nice to have an opportunity to play them again. The vibe, the energy, the crowd, it’s something you can’t experience unless you’ve been there.”

The teams met early March at the Best of the West tournament.

Oak Park swept Corona del Mar, 25-23, 25-21, in gold-bracket play to take over the No. 1 spot in Division 2. Oak Park’s held the position ever since.

Both coaches concede plenty has changed since then.

Corona del Mar was mixing in nine new players into its roster and hadn’t found a lineup it was comfortable with yet. On the other hand, Oak Park had everyone back and was out to make an early name for itself.

“We got them early, but they didn’t know much about Oak Park,” Quinn said. “We don’t have a reputation. We’ve never played Corona del Mar before. It’ll be a different story this time around. They were filming our match the other night. There won’t be any surprises. We caught them off guard the first time. I expect them to be ready to play. I’m hoping my guys do the same.”

Said Conti, “We’ve played a lot of guys throughout the year. We’ve looked at a lot of lineups. We didn’t have that continuity and teamwork early. We’ve had time to build. Oak Park had the advantage early on. It’s taken us time to develop. I think we got better, but even though Oak Park returned a lot of guys, I think they’ll have improved too.”

Record books will change Saturday.

Corona del Mar could claim its eighth Southern Section title, trailing only Loyola.

Should Oak Park win, though, it’ll be the Eagles first time celebrating on the finals stage. And it’ll have come against one of the most storied programs in the Southern Section.

It’s what dreams are made of.

“I think it’ll be a good match,” Quinn said. “I’m hoping it’ll be a tough match. We want a tough match. If you are going to win CIF, the gratitude comes from having won a tough match against a good opponent. That’s the chance we get. Corona del Mar has lots of talent and is well coached. They have been a juggernaut in boys volleyball for years. It’s what I expect. It’s what we want. The boys are up for the challenge.”

No. 1 Loyola Cubs

When, where: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Cypress College, Gym 2

Previous meetings: Loyola d Mira Costa 25-12, 25-19, at Best of the West; Loyola d Mira Costa 25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 nonleague

CIF Finals Appearances

Loyola (*won title) – 1983*, 1985*, 1986*, 1987*, 1988*, 1995*, 2003*, 2004*, 2005*, 2009*, 2010*

Mira Costa (*won title) – 1984*, 1987, 1989, 1990*, 1996*, 1998, 2001*, 2002*, 2005, 2007, 2008*, 2010

Road to the Finals

Loyola – d San Marcos 25-6, 25-19, 25-15; d Lakewood 25-10, 25-13, 25-18; d Westlake 28-26, 25-20, 25-23; d Servite 25-12, 25-17, 25-22

Mira Costa – d Newbury Park 25-16, 25-16, 25-14; d Santa Margarita 25-19, 25-9, 26-24; d Dana Hills 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14; d Esperanza 18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20

Secret Coach’s Take:

To win this match, the winning team is going to have to serve, pass, and block better.  This is how each team will maximize their opportunity in these areas.

Breaking down Loyola’s passers:

No matter what, Costa needs to stay away from Nick Porterfield.  He is the most efficient passer on the court for the Cubs.  He is equally strong with his hands and his platform.  Parker Boehle has one of the best platforms in high school volleyball.  He drops consistent 3-point passes when he gets his feet to the ball and sticks out that platform.  However, he can struggle with his hands.  If Costa can get a good jump float to put him on his heels and force him to take the ball above his head or a high spin where he uses his hands, he can struggle.  Alex Slaught is an above average passer, but he will string together 3-5 great passes, then drop a 1-point pass.  If Costa is patient, they can get Loyola out of system by serving Slaught and must maximize on these opportunities.

Breaking Down Loyola’s Offense:

Loyola has the best setter in high school volleyball.  Michael Mullahey will keep Loyola in system on passes pulled off the net.  The ball is always in the window and he has a very high volleyball I.Q. However, Loyola’s seemingly flawless offense has some wrinkles that Costa must take advantage of.  1, When Mullahey is front row, Costa needs to trap the outside.  LaPorte is a good high school opposite but he is a much better blocker then attacker.  When attacking from the D ball, Costa can stay down on him and have no trouble digging his attack.  This allows Costa left side block to read Mullahey on the dump and commit on the middle.  Costa can release their middle and right side and always have a solid two man block against Loyola’s strength of their team: their outsides.  2, When Garret Mohr is up, Costa does not need to pay as much attention to him.  This is Mullahey’s last option and I would be surprised if he got more than 5 sets in the match.  This allows Costa middles to be concerned about their pins ready to move horizontal.  Driss Guessous is another story.  He is a great middle and Costa needs to pay attention to him.

Breaking down Costa’s passers:

Stay away from Brooks Varni.  There is a reason he is going to USC and it’s because he is arguably a top 3 libero in high school volleyball.  He is going to pass dimes all match long.  Keith Waddell and Kevin Inlow are very similar passers.  They are pretty steady and will do a good job pushing that pass to the net.  To get them out of system, Loyola has to go after the front row outside hitter.  These guys will want to release early and focus on getting a big kill.  If Loyola can make these guys do two things in one sideout sequence (pass and hit), you will see their passing percentage drop over the match.  If Loyola can have Michael Mullahey hit his serve from 1 to area 5, Jackson Bantle from 5 to area 5, and have Boehle throw in an occasional zone 4 serve, Costa’s outsides are going to have a lot of pressure on them. 

Breaking down Costa’s offense:

Surprisingly, Costa has a much more balanced attack than Loyola.  Where Loyola will have their two outsides total 2–plus kills, don’t be surprised if Costa has five attackers all between 10-13 kills.  They are solid in every position and Jackson Carr does a good job distributing the ball.  Costa does have a legitimate D ball threat in Orenic now, so Loyola does not want to trap like Costa will.  Loyola will have to get Costa out of system.  If they do that, Jackson Carr can become somewhat predictable.  He does not like to go against the flow when the ball is passed in zones 2 or 4.  If he does, the Loyola middles will pick it up and make a good move.  Also, his location can struggle when he is going the long way.  If they are in system, expect Carr to establish the middles early and go to the pins late in the game.  This will open up the offense for him.

X factor for Loyola:

Jackson Bantle: This match is going to be tight.  Do not be surprised if 5 deuce games are played.  Each team will sideout over 70% and probably not give up points in bunches.  If Bantle can get hot, he has the best serve in high school volleyball.  I overheard a coach who trains in Anaheim with the National team say that when his serve is on, it is similar to the serves those guys are hitting in practice.  If he dials up 1-2 aces per set, that will be enough to put Loyola over the top.

X factor for Costa:

Brooks Varni: Loyola hits the ball hard and against most teams the ball hits the floor.  However, this will not happen against Costa’s libero.  He can rattle their outsides by getting balls up that usually do not.  If he can make Loyola’s attackers do things they normally do not want to do, they might start making some uncharacteristic hitting errors. 

What I’m looking for

Which teams handles the non-volleyball aspect the best. If we could lock these teams in a vacuum, taking away the crowds, the media, the CIF title and all the other stuff outside the lines, we would be left with two terrific volleyball teams. The world doesn’t work like that, though. And this isn’t Corona del Mar-Oak Park, where there’s so little history between the teams and the players that it’ll be easier to make it about the volleyball. However, this is Loyola and Mira Costa and the CIF final. It’s only the third time they are playing in a championship match for all their combined success. Each team has a ton of seniors. Each team has a huge following. The players know each other well. They’ll be playing against and with each other in club in a few weeks. It’s personal. There’s all of that going on. Whichever team is able to block all of that out the most, will give itself the best chance at playing its best volleyball Saturday night. As for the match itself, I think it’s critical both teams find a way to work their way into the match. In the semifinals, I felt like Esperanza’s only chance was winning Game 1, whereas Mira Costa had the luxury of playing at home and could work itself into the match. That’ll be the case for both teams Saturday. Game 1 will be more important for how teams react to it then it’ll be who wins it. There’s plenty of examples in the CIF finals of teams playing poorly in Game 1 and going on to win the match. It’s called nerves and it’s imperative not to panic, but to work through them. Whichever team wins Game 1 can’t start feeling too good, it needs to keep pushing. The team that loses Game 1 can’t worry about it. Both these teams are good enough that a sweep doesn’t seem likely either way. Mira Costa did a great job of this in the semifinals. After losing Game 1, Mira Costa steadied its game and started limiting its mistakes. Mira Costa also bounced back after losing the opening game against Dana Hills. Loyola, meanwhile, hasn’t dropped a set so far. It’ll be key to see how Loyola reacts when it happens Saturday. At the same time, Mira Costa doesn’t necessarily want to keep testing its luck and losing the first game. Loyola is a different team than Dana Hills and Esperanza, and the match won’t be at home. The fact Loyola won both meetings this year won’t mean a thing now that Mira Costa has switched its lineup, but the lineup change won’t mean as much to Loyola as it did to Esperanza. Loyola is more familiar with the Mira Costa players than Esperanza. In the end, after a somewhat shaky start, I’m looking for a high-level match that will come down to Game 5 execution.

No. 1 Oak Park Eagles

When, where: 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Cypress College, Gym 2

Previous meeting: Oak Park d Corona del Mar, 25-23, 25-21, at Best of the West

CIF Finals Appearances

Oak Park – 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010

Corona del Mar (*won title) – 1985*, 1989*, 1997, 1998*, 1999, 2000*, 2001, 2005*, 2006, 2007*, 2011*

Road to finals

Oak Park – bye; d Hemet 25-19, 25-9, 25-17; d El Toro 25-15, 25-13, 25-13; d Valencia 25-17, 25-21, 25-13

Corona del Mar – bye; d Oaks Christian 25-18, 25-15, 25-17; d Trabuco Hills 25-19, 25-23, 25-19; d West Ranch25-12, 25-20, 25-18

Secret Coach’s Take:

The Division 2 final between the Corona Del Mar Sea Kings and the Oak Park Eagles is set to be a great one!  Both teams are senior-heavy and have played through tough schedules this year.  Both teams have very strong weapons who can all get kills.  Both teams are led by coaches who have a lot of experience on the big stage with the division championship on the line.  I think the game will come down to the passing game, and the blocking/defense game.  If these teams can stay consistent with their passing and blocking/defense, it will give them more opportunities to run their offense.  It’s interesting comparing the offense of these teams.

Oak Park’s strengths are in its pin hitters.  If they can give Justin Parks (#24) and Bradley Sakaida (#10) good looks on the outside and Nick Fahn (#19) on the right, they could see success.  They would also have to pass well and contain the jump serve of CdM’s Parker Brown.

CdM, on the other hand, is a bit more balanced in that Joe Ctvrtlik (#4) is able to set the pins to split the blockers, or run the offense through the middle with Jack Reed (#9) and Brown (#1) on the Bic (or anywhere for that matter).  If CdM has a good passing night and can slow the Eagles’ offense down with its block, the Sea Kings could see some success.

This will be a hard fought and emotional match.  My prediction: CdM in 4.

Outlook

The teams played so early in the season that the results of that match won’t matter much Saturday. Both teams figure to be better having spent two months working at it. No doubt Oak Park had a better sense of its identity in March than Corona del Mar. Oak Park didn’t carry a senior on last year’s team, returning everyone for the 2012 campaign. Meanwhile, Corona del Mar was working in 9 new players with 6 returners. Corona del Mar spent most of the season working through different lineups to get to this point. The meeting earlier this season did serve to add an interesting dynamic to this match. It’s hard to get a grasp on which team is truly the favorite and which one isn’t. Oak Park winning earlier this season and taking over the No. 1 seed points toward Oak Park being the favored team. However, CdM is the defending champion. Oak Park has never won a CIF final before. This seems to favor CdM. That’s something to watch for Saturday. CdM will have four players on the court with Joe Ctvrtlik, Parker Brown, Jack Reed and Remy Lammons, parts of last year’s championship team. Their experience will be huge Saturday and CdM will need them to play well to succeed. The fact they were on the court last year in the finals will be a tremendous advantage. Oak Park is deep, capable of getting production 1-7, and that will pose problems for CdM. There will be definite match ups Oak Park can exploit when CdM has its less experienced players in certain rotations. Settling into the match will be key. If CdM loses Game 1, it can’t over-react and start to panic, but it will open the possibility of doubt entering CdM’s mind. The other side, Oak Park can’t lose belief if CdM comes out and steam rolls in Game 1. It’s going to be a long, close match. The teams need to approach it with that in mind.

Not one.

Not two. Not three. Not four. But five.

That’s how many tackles Keanu Reeves’ character Johnny Utah breaks on his way to tackling Patrick Swayze’s character Bodhi while playing beach football in the movie Point Break. And that’s just on camera. It could be six, seven, eight ….

Not that there ever needs to be a reason to talk about Keanu Reeves or the movie Point Break, but there’s actually a good one.

It’s the start of the CIF boys volleyball playoffs.

You still might be wondering what it has to do with Johnny Utah.

Allow me to fill you in.

Playoff success rides on being Johnny Utah.

He wasn’t going to be denied. He shrugged off tackle after tackle. His target wasn’t going to get away from lack of effort, hustle or determination.

You saw how it ended.

With a splash.

If this is what you desire, be Johnny Utah.

Seek and conquer and splash.

With so much going on, you don’t have to go far to follow it.

This is main headquarters, where you can find brackets, analysis, recaps and much more below throughout the postseason.

Huntington Beach's Zach Gates (hitting) gets one past his man earlier this season. (Photo: Jeff Antenore)

SOUTHERN SECTION

Brackets

Finals

Divisions 1-5

Semifinals

Divisions 1-5

Quarterfinals

Divisions 1-5

Round 2

Divisions 1-5

Round 1

Division 1; Division 2; Division 3; Division 4; Division 5

Previews

Final capsules:

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

Division 5

Semifinal capsules:

Division 1 ; Division 2; Division 3; Division 4; Division 5

Pre-tournament: 

Division 1; Division 2; Division 3; Division 4 ; Division 5

Predictions

Division 1

Division 2 

Division 3

Division 4 

Division 5

Recaps

Servite sweats out victory over San Clemente

Esperanza’s game too much for Thousand Oaks

Dos Pueblos sweeps Foothill, awaits coveted rematch

Results

Semifinals

Quarterfinals

Round 2

Round 1

More

On the Set: Esperanza’s Blake Auerbach

Playoff Wrap (Round 3)

Playoff Wrap (Round 2)

Playoff Wrap

On the set: Oak Park’s Bradley Sakaida

Division 1 race will live up to hype

Quick reaction

SAN DIEGO SECTION

Brackets

Finals

Divisions 1-4

Semifinals

Divisions 1-4

Round 2

Divisions 1-4

Round 1

Division 1; Division 2; Division 3; Division 4

Previews

Finals:

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

Pre-tournament:

Division 1; Division 2; Division 3; Division 4

Predictions

Division 1

Division 2 

Division 3

Division 4 

Results

Semifinals

Round 2 (Div. 1, 3)

Round 2 (Div. 2, 4)

Round 1 (Div. 2, 4)

Round 1 (Div. 1, 3)

More 

On the Set: Otay Ranch’s JJ Olaogun

On the Set: Westview’s Tyler Wehr

No. 1 Warren Bears

When, where: 2 p.m., Saturday, Cypress College, Gym 2

Previous meeting: Warren d South, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9, at Redondo Power Classic

CIF Finals Appearances

Warren – N/A

South – 2010

Road to finals

Warren – d Arcadia 25-14, 25-16, 25-16; d Morro Bay 25-17, 25-18, 25-15; d El Segundo 25-15, 25-20, 25-19; d Camarillo 25-15, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17

South – d Cypress 25-14, 25-17, 25-19; d Santa Ynez 25-20, 25-16, 25-18; d Crescenta Valley 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21; d Burroughs/B 25-20 22-25 25-18 25-21

Outlook

There is a lot riding on this match as neither program has won a CIF title before. It means the winner will deliver their school’s first championship in the sport. Warren is making its first CIF finals appearance. South is making its second. Current South leader Andy Gage was part of that squad. South will need a typical big game from Gage, as well as Peter Nordel and Garrett Niida. Those three will carry South’s attack, but the difference is going to be guys like Ross Madenwald and Kenichi Hackman contributing. The more production South gets from those guys, the better its chances at winning. Warren has a strong quartet of attackers South must contend with. They are Nick Alvarez, Dean Kendall, Alfonso Mata and Josh Nehls, along with setter Cristian Cuevas. Both teams will be playing with a lot to prove and that will lead to emotional moments. It’ll be important not to get caught up in the extracurricular activities. Warren won the only meeting between the teams this season, but it was in tournament play. The best-of-five Saturday is a different deal. The tournament match was close, decided by a couple points. That’ll be the case again Saturday.

No. 1 Cathedral Phantoms

When, where:  4 p.m., Saturday, Cypress College, Gym 1

Previous meeting: Cathedral d Santa Monica, 29-27, 25-22, Redondo Preseason tourney

CIF Finals Appearance

Cathedral – N/A

Santa Monica (*won title) – 1974*, 1975, 1979*, 2006*, 2007, 2011*

Road to Finals          

Cathedral – d Paraclete 25-19, 25-19, 25-14; d Bolsa Grande 25-16, 25-15, 25-21; d El Rancho 25-13, 17-25, 18-25, 25-14, 15-7; d Windward 25-17, 13-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-7

Santa Monica – Mark Keppel 25-8, 25-14, 25-22; d Bishop Montgomery 32-30, 27-25, 25-13; Crossroads 23-25, 14-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-13; d Campbell Hall 25-17, 25-16, 25-22

Outlook

To defend its title from last season, Santa Monica must go through Cathedral, a team that beat Santa Monica earlier this season and is playing for its first CIF title in program history. Experience and nerves could be a factor early. Santa Monica, having been there last year, needs to find a way to use its experience to its advantage. Santa Monica can look for a way to get on Cathedral early and maybe let Cathedral’s nerves come into play. However, if Cathedral gets off to a solid start, it could give the Phantoms added confidence having beaten Santa Monica once already this season. That match was close and the final should also feature some deuce games.

No. 2 Chadwick Dolphins

When, where: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Cypress College, Gym 1

Previous meeting: N/A

CIF Finals Appearances

Chadwick (*won title) – 2011*

Viewpoint (*won title) – 2002, 2005*, 2006*, 2007*, 2008*

Road to Finals

Chadwick – Arrowhead Chr 25-23, 25-13, 25-15; d Laguna Blanca 25-13, 25-11, 25-16; d Saddleback Valley Chr 25-9, 25-13, 25-14; d Vistamar 25-19, 25-22, 25-12

Viewpoint – Hawthorne 25-14, 25-21, 25-22; d Desert Chr 25-13, 25-20, 25-16; d Poly/P 21-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-12; d Salesian 18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11

Outlook

This is the only Southern Section final match where the teams haven’t played at all this season. That gives this match a different feel from the rest. The teams won’t know each other as well, but one thing Chadwick does know is what to expect Saturday as the defending champion. That’s a big advantage in matches like these. When you’ve faced a team before like the other final matches, even if you haven’t been to a final, there’s some familiarity with the opponent. That helps a lot. Viewpoint won’t have such a luxury. It’ll have to get used to the environment as well as Chadwick on the fly. It can be challenging. It’ll be important for Chadwick to come out quickly and try and to take away Viewpoint’s confidence. Viewpoint is coming off a huge upset and the last thing you want as Chadwick is Viewpoint gaining confidence early and feeling like it has another upset in it.