GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
ERIC PAUL JOHNSON
There was a time when teams from Orange County and the South Bay region of L.A. County dominated the CIF-Southern Section girls volleyball playoffs. The number of teams from Riverside or San Bernardino counties reaching the semifinal round could be counted on one hand. The Inland area has made tremendous strides during the past decade, and Saturday’s results in the quarterfinals were historic for the region. Tonight, a record 16 girls volleyball teams from Riverside and San Bernardino counties will be playing in CIF-Southern Section semifinal matches. “The gap between Inland teams and the beach schools has closed,” longtime Corona Santiago coach Arlen Elvik said. “It’s not necessarily because of a boom in club teams, but I do think teams are now getting players into their program that have years of club experience before high school.” Santiago seeks its second consecutive trip to the section championship. The Sharks won the Division 2AA championship last season but have moved up to Division 1A this year. Santiago (33-2), which is ranked No. 54 in the nation, will host Villa Park in tonight’s semifinals. Hemet (27-2) pulled out a five-set thriller against Loma Linda Academy on Saturday, keeping alive the Bulldogs’ chance to become just the fifth girls volleyball team in section history to reach the section final in five consecutive seasons. Hemet, which captured titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012, travels to Riverside Woodcrest Christian (22-3), which seeks the program’s first trip to a final. Hemet wasn’t the only area team to win in dramatic fashion Saturday night. Temecula Great Oak, Riverside King, Elsinore and Riverside La Sierra also won their quarterfinal matches in five sets. Great Oak (21-5) knocked off nationally ranked L.A. Marymount in the Division 1AA quarterfinals, becoming the first Inland team to reach the semis in the highest division in back-to-back seasons. The Wolfpack faces another tough test when it travels to No. 4 nationally ranked Redondo. This will be a rematch of last season’s quarterfinal contest, which Great Oak won in five sets. King appeared headed for an early playoff exit after Oregon-bound middle blocker Lauren Page was lost for the season because of severe shoulder injury. The Wolves (28-8) have won their past two matches in five sets and will travel to No. 15 nationally ranked Aliso Niguel for a Division 1A semifinal. Elsinore was down two sets against Culver City on Saturday but rallied to win the next three. The Tigers (28-7) travel to top seed Newport Beach Sage Hill for a Division 3AA semifinal. This is Elsinore’s deepest playoff run since winning the Division 2A section crown in 2009. La Sierra opened the year with a 2-8 record but has bounced back to win 13 consecutive matches. The Eagles (15-8) host top seed San Juan Capistrano Saddleback Valley Christian in Division 3A. Fontana Summit knocked off Anaheim Katella to advance to the semis for the first time in program history. The Sky-Hawks (14-6) travel to top seed Carpinteria Cate for a Division 4A match. Calvary Murrieta (18-9-1) is riding a nine-match win streak heading into tonight’s Division 5AA match at home against top seed Santa Clarita Christian. The Warriors seek their first trip to the championship round since the program advanced to three section finals from 2006 to ’08. CONTACT THE WRITER: [email protected]