Marymount’s 25-22, 25-17 victory over Mater Dei to win the Nike Tournament of Champions last weekend pushed the Sailors ahead of the Monarchs in the CIF-Southern Section girls’ volleyball poll released Sept. 24.
In the combined Division 1&2 rankings, Marymount (22-6) rose from third to second, Redondo Union (18-2) rose from second to first, and Mater Dei (29-2) slipped from first to third. Santa Margarita (14-9) was fifth, up from sixth last week.
At the Nike Tournament held Sept. 21-22 in Phoenix, Marymount won six of its seven matches, losing only to Hagerty of Oviedo, Fla., 20-18 in the third set (all matches were best of three sets). Mater Dei also won six of seven, losing only to Marymount, while Redondo Union — which has lost to Mater Dei but beaten Marymount this season — did not play at the Nike event.
The Sailors and Monarchs are scheduled to meet again Oct. 4 in Westwood, a week prior to end of the regular season, and in November could well repeat their encounter in last year’s D-1 finals, won by Mater Dei. In the meantime, league play continues over the next two weeks in all divisions, with post-season play scheduled to start Oct. 16.
Elsewhere, St. Paul moved from eighth to sixth in Division 3; Bishop Montgomery slid from second to third and Mayfield remained sixth in D-4; and St. Anthony remained eighth in D-5.
St. Bonaventure continued its climb up the D-7 ladder from fourth to third, as Providence (Burbank) held on to sixth. Villanova entered the D-8 top 10 at No. 9, ahead of Bishop Diego in tenth (down from fifth), and Santa Clara slid from fifth to sixth in D-9.
The “Others to Watch” list included St. Joseph (Lakewood) and Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) in D-1&2, and Holy Family in D-8.
Cross country
The Sept. 17 CIF-SS rankings issued by Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack.com show Catholic schools at or near the top in boys’ cross country, with Loyola climbing from second to first in boys’ Division 2, and J.Serra, Cathedral and Bishop Amat at second, fourth and eighth in D-4.
In girls’ cross country, the main change was in Division 4, where Mayfield rose from sixth to fifth, J.Serra dropped from second to seventh, and Bishop Amat inched up from ninth to eighth. Santa Margarita is still eighth in D-3, and Sacred Heart moved from ninth to seventh in D-5.
Girls’ tennis
The biggest change in the CIF-SS girls’ tennis polls among Catholic schools was in Division 3, as St. Lucy’s soared into fifth and Mayfield rose from ninth to eighth.
Marymount and Louisville, third and fourth last week, fell out of the top 10.
Elsewhere, Mater Dei is still 16th in Division 1, Chaminade ninth in D-2, and Bishop Montgomery and Alemany eighth and tenth in D-4. La Salle made its first appearance in the D-5 top 10 at No. 9.
Boys’ water polo
Servite is still first in Division 3 Loyola and Mater Dei traded third and fourth (Loyola now third) in the combined Division 1&2 rankings, with Santa Margarita jumping from 17th to sixth. Teams to watch include Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) in D-3, and La Salle in D-6.
Mike Nelson is the editor of the Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).
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