The struggle for superiority (and playoff seedings) in one of the toughest girls’ volleyball battlegrounds in the country — Divisions 1 and 2 in the CIF-Southern Section — continues to heat up, although the top four spots are the same as last week.
Redondo Union, Marymount, Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon are 1-2-3-4 for the second week in a row, as per the Oct. 8 CIF-SS rankings. League play continues this week and next before playoff action begins Oct. 22.
Marymount gained a measure of national acclaim by winning last weekend’s Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, beating Mater Dei in the finals and also defeating the country’s top-ranked team, Cathedral Catholic of San Diego (23-4), in “bracket” play. Sailor sophomore Ella Rubin was named tournament MVP.
Mater Dei (25-4) and Marymount (24-5) rank third and fourth nationally in this week’s Maxpreps’ Xcellent 25 survey, while Marymount is third and Mater Dei sixth in Maxpreps’ computer poll. Redondo Union (25-3) is 11th in both.
Elsewhere in the CIF-SS rankings, La Salle remained second for the sixth straight week (behind Ontario Christian), and Notre Dame Academy stayed at eighth in Division 3. St. Anthony rose from sixth to fourth in D-4.
For the second straight week, La Reina and Chaminade played leapfrog in D-5, as Chaminade moved up from seventh to fifth while La Reina dropped from fifth to tenth.
Mary Star of the Sea rose from sixth to third, and St. Bonaventure from tenth to sixth, in D-6. Sacred Heart returned to the D-7 top ten at No. 6; Ramona Convent fell from third to sixth in D-8; and Santa Clara dipped from seventh to eighth in D-9.
Listed just outside the rankings are Santa Margarita (D-1&2), Providence of Burbank (D-6), and Bishop Diego and St. Monica Academy of Montrose (D-8).
