Nine local girls’ volleyball teams qualify for CIF playoffs

The CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball playoffs will feature nine local teams, highlighted by the league champions coming out of the Sunset Conference’s Surf and Wave leagues.

Huntington Beach (25-5), which went undefeated in Surf League play, enters the postseason riding an 18-match winning streak. The Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed in the Division 2 bracket, have a bye before they take the floor at home in the second round Saturday against the winner of Newhall Hart (14-6, Foothill League No. 2) at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (19-8, Sunshine League No. 2).

Laguna Beach (15-15) walked a tightrope to punch its postseason ticket. The Breakers earned back-to-back wins over Los Alamitos in the final week of the season, including a victory in the Surf League second-place tiebreaker match, to qualify for the Division 2 playoffs.

In the first round on Thursday, the Breakers will play host to La Cañada Flintridge Sacred Heart (24-13, Sunshine League No. 3).

After holding onto the top spot in the Division 3 poll for much of the year, that is where Wave League champion Newport Harbor (25-7) finds itself as the playoffs begin.

The Sailors await the winner of Oak Hills (14-7, Mojave River League No. 2) at Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos (19-10, Baseline League No. 2). Newport Harbor will have a home game in the second round on Saturday.

Edison (17-16, Wave League No. 2) will also get a home game to start the Division 3 playoffs against Los Angeles Windward (15-15, Gold Coast League No. 3).

Ocean View (7-16) won just enough down the stretch to finish 5-5 in the Golden West League and capture the league’s third automatic bid by one game over Godinez. The Seahawks had a short road trip for their first-round match, as Ocean View was scheduled to face Garden Grove League champion Bolsa Grande (16-5) on Wednesday.

Crosstown rivals Costa Mesa (17-5) and Estancia (21-9) had strong seasons, and both appear in the bottom half of the Division 7 draw. The third-seeded Mustangs swept the home-and-home set played between the teams this year.

Costa Mesa, which finished second to Calvary Chapel in the Orange Coast League, will be at home against Azusa (14-12, Montview League No. 2) in the first round. Estancia, the third-place team in the Orange Coast League, travels to take on Anaheim (13-5), which shared the Orange League title with Western.

Pacifica Christian (16-9, Academy League No. 2), the No. 3 seed in the Division 8 playoffs, will be at home against Inglewood Animo Leadership (8-14, Mulholland League No. 3) in the first round of the Division 8 playoffs on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The section’s girls’ volleyball playoffs kicked off on Tuesday with the wildcard round. Liberty Christian (3-6), which advanced out of the Western League, lost to Newbury Park Adventist (5-5) at home by a score of 25-14, 25-3, 25-12. Newbury Park Adventist earned the right to face Avalon (22-4, Academy League champion), the No. 2 seed in the Division 9 playoffs.

::

Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.

For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.