The CIF State girls’ volleyball bracket was released Sunday evening, with a cruel twist for Long Beach Poly fans.
The Jackrabbits were defeated in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals by one of the nation’s top programs in Mater Dei, a difficult loss but one that provided a silver lining. In years past, that loss would have put Poly into the Division 1 State bracket, avoiding the big money programs like Mater Dei and Marymount.
Instead this year, six Southern Section teams went into the Open Division for State, including the Jackrabbits. In a particularly cruel twist, Poly will have a rematch against Mater Dei, on the road on Wednesday evening.
St. Anthony is in the Division 3 bracket and is also potentially facing a rematch with the team that eliminated them soon. The Saints will travel to Taft on Tuesday evening, but would face Division 3 top-seed Ontario Christian on Thursday with a win; that’s who eliminated the Saints in the Southern Section playoffs.
We’ll have more on these matches including full previews later this week.
