County Teams Continue Tradition of High Seeding

CERRITOS — Two Orange County teams were top-seeded in the three divisions when the Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoff pairings were announced Monday at the section office.

Santa Margarita and Laguna Beach earned top seedings in Divisions II and III. In Division I, Capistrano Valley is seeded third and Esperanza fourth.

Santa Margarita defeated Esperanza and Capistrano Valley this season but will play in its proper enrollment division. Tustin is fourth-seeded in Division II.

Laguna Beach, winner of five top-division section titles, will also play in its enrollment division. Calvary Chapel is fourth-seeded in Division III after making the Division II final the past two seasons.

The playoff brackets are regionalized this season. South Coast League champion Capistrano Valley is top-seeded in the Orange County bracket partly because it beat Esperanza in the Redondo tournament two weeks ago.

Although Esperanza may have to play early-round matches outside of the area, it might be an advantage. Capistrano Valley will have to fight through what has historically been the toughest region.

In the 23 years of boys’ volleyball section championships, nearly two-thirds of the finalists are from Orange County, and 13 won titles.