The 2018-19 CIF-Southern Section boys volleyball Division 2 playoffs get underway this week with West Ranch, Valencia and Hart representing the Foothill League.
Hart hosts St. Francis, the Mission League’s fourth-place finisher at 6 p.m. today in the lone Division 2 Wild Card game.
The Indians finished third in the Foothill League standings, winning two of the final three games of the regular season with wins coming on the road at Canyon and at home against Saugus.
The senior-laden Indians team anchored by Jake Meyers, Alex Schmidt and Ezra Moore along with juniors Sawyer Tengberg and Gavin Leising look to advance to the first round where the No. 1 overall seed in Division 2 Saddleback Valley Christian awaits.
St. Francis finished with a winning percentage of .500 in the Mission League, sweeping Crespi and Chaminade in straight games and stealing a 3-2 win at Harvard-Westlake to close out league play.
Finishing with its fourth straight undefeated Foothill League title and a No. 5 ranking in the Division 2 polls, West Ranch is coming off a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory at Valencia on Wednesday.
The Wildcats host Dos Pueblos of the Channel League at 6 p.m. at West Ranch tomorrow.
The Chargers are coming off a third-place league finish and enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak, falling to Venice and San Marcos in straight games and Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo in the final two games.
The two schools have four opponents in common this year as Dos Pueblos finished 0-of-4 against Valencia, Golden Valley, Quartz Hill and Thousand Oaks.
West Ranch won 4-of-5 with the only loss coming against Thousand Oaks.
Juniors Johnny Buchanan and Zack Drake along with seniors Tristin Clint and Daniel Bisla look to make a deeper run in this year’s playoffs after falling in the first round a season ago.
Valencia hits the road to take on Oxnard at Oxnard High School at 6 p.m on Tuesday in a rematch of the 3-1 season-opening win against the Yellowjackets.
Oxnard finished the season 10-0 in the Pacific View League, earning a home game against the Vikings.
The two schools faced off against six common opponents during the regular season, both defeating Dos Pueblos and Torrance, while both lost to San Marcos, Santa Barbara, Clovis North and Westlake.
The Foothill League’s second-place Vikings team dropped three league games with two coming against West Ranch and one to Hart.
Seniors Tyler Clyde and Dorian Ellis provide some explosiveness with their extensive leaping abilities. Juniors Jacob Knudsen and Daniel Ra provide steady hands and innate ball handling skills.
