Playoffs continue for area volleyball teams

LOOK CLOSE- Thousand Oaks' Tori Boden, right, uses her finger to tip the ball over a Millikan defender during Tuesday night's Lancer win in the first round of the CIFSS playoffs. T.O. now advances to play Redondo Union on the road tonight. October has turned into November, a time when girls' volleyball teams begin the postseason and the contenders are separated from the pretenders.

The Marmonte League had four teams that made the Division I-AA CIF-Southern Section postseason. The team with the highest seed is Thousand Oaks, who finished the season with a 131 record in league. The Lancers have been dominating the past few seasons, losing one league game in three years.

TOHS got off to a good start by beating Millikan 3-2 Tuesday night. Thousand Oaks will now play Redondo Union, who had a bye in the first round, tonight on the road.

For the Lancers to advance far in the playoffs, they'll need help from experienced seniors like Tori Boden, Deanna Elias, Rachelle Loehner, Halie Van Uden and Becca Clancy.

Getting the No. 2 seed in the Marmonte League was Moorpark High. The Musketeers drew a tough bracket in the playoffs and lost Tuesday night to Lakewood in three games by the scores of 17-25, 17-25 and 29-31.

Moorpark's season is now over, but with a young team the Musketeers should be back in the playoffs for years to come.

"We battled hard all season," Moorpark head coach Brendan Hanson said. "We are definitely going to miss Chelsea (Daley) next season. I've asked her to do a lot since I started coaching here, and she's always stepped it up.

"I think the younger players learned a lot from Chelsea this past year, and I'm now looking for Rachael Kidder and Shannon Thompson to step into her shoes next season. We have a young team and a very good incoming junior varsity team, so I'm very excited about the future," Hanson said.

The No. 3 seed in the Marmonte League is Westlake, who finished the year with an 113 record in league.

The Warriors got off to a good postseason start by beating Long Beach Poly Tuesday night in five games. Westlake won the first two games 25-19 and 25-22 before losing the next two by scores of 14-25 and 20-25. However, Westlake hung tough to close out the deciding game 16-14.

WHS got help from its seniors against Long Beach Poly. Kelsey Kaehler had 40 assists, Alex Johnson served up 26 kills and Cathy Quilico finished the game with 32 digs. Westlake plays Esperanza High in the second round tonight.

Simi Valley finished the year 8-6 in the Marmonte League. The Pioneers came into the playoffs on a high note after beating Moorpark in five games to end the regular season. However, that momentum did not last long, as the Pioneers lost to Newport Harbor in four games Tuesday.

"The one thing I will remember about this team is how close they were and how there was no drama that you might see on other girls' volleyball teams," Simi Valley head coach Ryan Meek said. "They fought a lot of adversity this year. We lost three of our key players before the season even started."

Simi will say goodbye to senior Shakila Balki, who Meek said was one of the best players SVHS has had.

"She was our heart and our soul," Meek said. "Where she went, we went. It says a lot about a girl when she leads in every statistical category except setting because she wasn't a setter."

The Tri-Valley League sent three teams to the Division III-AA

CIFSS playoffs, including topseeded La Reina. The Regents went undefeated in league this year and wasted no time beating Morro Bay 3-0 in the first round.

For La Reina to continue its success, they'll need Lani Helm, Jacqueline Martyn and Lauren Anselmo to provide leadership. Helm led the team with 144 kills in 2006, while Martyn had 142 kills and Lauren Anselmo logged 135 kills and 45 blocks.

Oaks Christian received the No. 2 seed in the Tri-Valley League and responded by winning its first playoff game against St. Joseph's High by the scores of 25-20, 25-12 and 25-10. They will move on to play Quartz Hill tonight.

Senior Molly Cindric and sophomore Glenna Roberts fueled OCHS this year. Cindric led the team with 242 kills and 212 digs. Roberts had a team-high 43 aces and 495 assists. Junior Shannon Armstrong should also make an impact in the postseason, as she finished the regular season with 104 kills, 31 assists and 65 blocks.

Coming in as the No. 3 seed in the Tri-Valley league was Oak Park, who like Oaks Christian, finished the season with a 9-3 record in league. Oak Park beat Culver City in five games to move on to the second round.

The Eagles had help from Sam Macks, who contributed nine kills and eight blocks. Also contributing were Inga McManus with 11 kills, Sara Majidian with 20 kills and Brittany Messier with 15 digs. Oak Park plays Santa Inez in the second round.

Making the postseason in the Division IV-AA bracket was Viewpoint.

The Patriots earned the No. 1 seed in the Liberty League and did not disappoint in the first round by beating Windward 2515, 25-22 and 25-16. Viewpoint will play Rio Hondo Prep in the second round.