Once upon a time, not in the too far distant past, North County high school teams dominated the San Diego Section playoffs. Few would refute that.
But that appears to be slowly changing.
Take this year’s boys volleyball playoffs. Yes, five of the eight teams in the premier Open Division hailed from North County along with three private schools. Pretty much par for the course.
Top-seeded Bishop’s, one of the private schools, defeated second-seeded Torrey Pines, 3-2, to win the title.
But the lineup in the other six divisional championship games was refreshingly varied. Sixth-seeded Eastlake, one of four South County entrants in this year’s postseason field, upset top-seeded Canyon Crest Academy, 3-1, to capture the Division I title while fifth-seeded Bonita Vista stung second-seeded San Marcos, 3-1, to claim the Division II banner – the first in school history.
It doesn’t end there. Third-seeded Mission Bay defeated fourth-seeded Olympian, 3-0, in the Division III final. Yes, that’s three Metro Conference teams in a row serving as the opposition. El Cajon’s Christian High School, seeded third in Division IV, won its first-ever CIF title with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Tri-City Christian.
Fourth-seeded Point Loma defeated second-seeded Hoover, 3-0, in a matchup of City Conference schools for the rights to the Division V banner. Top-seeded Escondido Adventist Academy scored a 3-0 sweep of second-seeded Bayfront Charter in a North-South pairing.
The championship honor roll included two Metro Conference teams, two private schools, two City Conference public schools and one North County public school.
A look at the boys lacrosse playoffs is even more insightful.
Top-seeded Torrey Pines crushed the competition to win its eighth consecutive Open Division championship, topping third-seeded La Costa Canyon, 15-4 to improve to 15-3 on the season.
But the other three divisional playing fields were more level. Santa Fe Christian upset top-seeded Granite Hills, 11-6, to claim the Division I championship while second-seeded Patrick Henry defeated top-seeded Westview, 9-7, to scurry off with the Division II trophy.
In the Division III final, top-seeded Valhalla edged third-seeded Clairemont, 6-5, to capture the Orange Nation’s first-ever championship in the sport.
Two East County schools and two City Conference schools supplied the competition in the three lower division finals.
Granite Hills was making its second consecutive appearance in the D-I final.
Division champions in girls lacrosse included No. 1 Coronado (Open Division), La Jolla (Division I), Pacific Ridge (Division II) and Valley Center (Division III).
Coronado and Pacific Ridge both repeated as division champions while La Jolla and Valley Center both captured their first CIF championships.
Spike it
While the section title was the first for Bonita Vista, it wasn’t for Eastlake, which captured Division II championship in 1999 and 2023.
The Titans have advanced to the CIF finals a staggering seven times as likely one of the Metro Conference’s all-time top teams.
Eastlake finished runner-up to Francis Parker in the Division III final in 1995, then defeated Scripps Ranch to win the Division II championship in 1999.
Eastlake placed runner-up to Valhalla in the Division II title game in 2001. Otay Ranch defeated Eastlake to win the Division I championship in 2013. Fast-forward to a runner-up finish against Cathedral Catholic in the 2018 Division I championship game.
The sixth time was the charm in 2023 as the Titans spiked Mission Hills for the Division II banner at Southwestern College.
The 2026 title run included an opening round win over No. 11 Granite Hills, an avenging 3-2 win over No. 3 Cathedral Catholic in the quarterfinals and a 3-2 upset win over No. 2 Westview in the semifinals.
Undaunted, the Titans upset their third consecutive higher-seeded opponent in the championship game, played May 15 at Mission Hills High School.
Concordia-Irvine commit Sean Fleming reeled off a match-high 29 kills to lead Eastlake to a 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17 defeat of the top-seeded Ravens (22-14).
The Titans, who endured a massive 15-game losing streak early in the season, improved their season record to 19-20 — 16-5 since March 28, including 6-0 in Metro-Mesa League play.
Bonita Vista recorded runner-up CIF finals finishes in 2014 to Santana at the Division III level and 2016 to El Camino at the Division II level before Saturday’s breakthrough victory over the top-seeded Knights (29-12).
The Barons opened the playoffs with a 3-1 win (25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19) over No. 12 Pacific Ridge, then upset No. 4 Helix 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-17, 15-9) on the road in the quarterfinals. No. 1 Coronado (23-7) went down 3-1 in the semifinals, again on the road
The knockout punch was delivered in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Knights at MiraCosta College as senior defensive specialist A.J. Sunga notche3d 18 kills and senior middle blocker Aiden McPherson tacked on 15 kills and three stuff-blocks.
BV head coach Cristian Tapia said key players this season included Sunga, McPherson, senior setter Isaac Maldonado and junior libero Zachariah Jugar.
“The team brought adrenaline to the playing court. We played with tenacity and aggressively the entire way,” Tapia said.
Sunga is a four-year varsity player. “I knew we were going to win the title and finish off the championship season.”
McPherson completed his second varsity season. “This was a great first championship. We didn’t get lucky. We deserved it.”
Also advancing to division finals were the Olympian Eagles (22-15) in Division III and Bayfront Charter (15-9) in Division V-AA.
Both took runner-up finishes.
Olympian fell 25-19, 25-19, 25-21 in a trio of hotly-contested matchups to the No. 3 Bucs (29-6) while Bayfront Charter fought hard in a gritty 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 setback to the No. 1 Hawks (16-4).
SAN DIEGO SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL 2026 CHAMPIONS
Thursday, May 14 at Logan Memorial High School
Division V-AA
Final: (1) Escondido Adventist Academy (16-4) defeated (2) Bayfront Charter (15-9), 3-0
Semifinals: (1) Escondido Adventist Academy defeated (5) Bonsall, 3-0; (2) Bayfront Charter defeated (3) Army-Navy Academy, 3-1
Division IV
Final: (3) Christian (26-7) defeated (1) Tri-City Christian (23-5), 3-2
Semifinals: (1) Tri-City Christian defeated (4) Oceanside, 3-1, (3) Christian defeated (2) San Ysidro 3-0
Friday, May 15 at Mission Hills High School
Division I
Final: (6) Eastlake (19-20) defeated (1) Canyon Crest Academy (22-14), 3-1
Semifinals: (1) Canyon Crest Academy defeated (4) Del Norte, 3-1; (6) Eastlake defeated (2) Westview, 3-2
Open Division
Final: (1) Bishop’s (38-3) defeated (2) Torrey Pines (32-8), 3-2
Semifinals: (1) Bishop’s defeated (4) La Costa Canyon, 3-0; (2) Torrey Pines defeated (3) Francis Parker, 3-0
Saturday, May 16 at MiraCosta College
Division V
Final: (4) Pt. Loma (21-12) defeated (2) Hoover (23-10), 3-0
Semifinals: (4) Pt. Loma defeated (1) Del Lago Academy, 3-1; (2) Hoover defeated (3) Central Union, 3-1
Division III
Final: (3) Mission Bay (29-6) defeated (4) Olympian (22-15), 3-0
Semifinals: (3) Mission Bay defeated (7) San Pasqual, 3-0; (4) Olympian defeated (1) Sweetwater, 3-1
Division II
Final: (5) Bonita Vista (24-14) defeated (2) San Marcos (29-12), 3-1
Semifinals: (2) San Marcos defeated (3) Mission Hills, 3-1; (5) Bonita Vista defeated (1) Coronado, 3-1
Patriot Nation is finally No 1
Christian (26-7) opened its playoff run with a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Canyon Hills in the quarterfinals on May 7 by scores of 18-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8. The Patriots then swept second-seeded San Ysidro, 3-0, in the semifinals on May 12 by scores of 25-18, 26-24, 25-19.
The Division IV final took place May 14 at Logan Memorial High School against a Tri-City team that had eliminated eighth-seeded La Jolla Country Day in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Oceanside in the semifinals.
The Eagles (23-5) were moving up after winning last year’s Division V-AA championship.
But clutch play from the Patriots prevented a CIF repeat.
“Our roster this year was five seniors, three juniors, including a Swedish exchange student, one sophomore and four freshmen,” Christian head coach Levi Gundert, who helped his alma mater post runner-up finishes in the CIF Division III finals in 1997 and 1998 as a player.
“We wrote our team goals down on a white board in February. Among a larger list of goals, the team decided they wanted to go undefeated in league, win CIF and maintain a 3.5 (or better) team GPA.
“What followed was a remarkable performance in which this team went 10-0 in league, even with injuries and illnesses, and then won CIF on Thursday night (May 14), which was the first boys volleyball CIF championship in school history. Last week the boys added ‘win state’ to the goal list.”
The Patriots received the No. 1 seed in the Division IV Southern California regional playoffs, hosting Los Angeles Franklin (9-16) in Tuesday’s opening round. The state championship game is May 30 in Fresno.
“Regardless of how we finish in state (the seniors may still be playing matches following their graduation on Friday night), I am incredibly proud of this team,” Gundert said. “I’ve coached talented teams before — girls and boys — but the chemistry on this team is the differentiator. It’s the reason for their success. They encourage each other and find a way to succeed even when they’re down.”
The 2026 edition of the CHS team stressed versatility.
Entering the playoffs, junior outside hitter Noah Mallory had amassed 299 kills and 287 digs in 76 sets played while senior setter Brody Schendel had logged 65 aces and 629 assists in 88 sets.
Key performers in the championship game included senior middle blocker Hudson McFarlane, junior David Griffin, senior libero Jack McGinnis and Schendel.
The Patriots trailed 16-15 in the second game while staring at a potential 0-2 start before catching fire with an 8-2 run to record a two-point victory and even the best-of-five series at a game apiece.
Christian’s defense came up big on the evening with 10 blocks with a block by McFarlane allowing the reigning City Central Conference champions to take a 13-9 lead in the fifth game tiebreaker that the Pats also won by two-points to secure the climactic championship.
Schendel earned honors as the City Conference Central League Player of the Year while McFarlane and Mallory both received First team honors and senior opposite hitter Gavin Cameron and McGinnis both were accorded Second Team honors.
Other division champions included No. 1 Bishop’s (Open Division), No. 6 Eastlake (Division I), No. 5 Bonita Vista (Division II), No. 3 Mission Bay (Division III), No. 4 Pt. Loma (Division V) and No. 1 Escondido Adventist Academy (Division V-AA).
Orange Nation
op-seeded Valhalla (14-7) rolled through the opening two rounds of this year’s playoff field with wins over eighth-seeded Sage Creek (19-2 in the quarter finals) and fourth-seeded Olympian (10-4 in the semifinals).
The Norsemen built a 6-1 halftime lead in the championship game against Clairemont and held on to win after defusing a late four-goal rally by the Chieftains (18-2).
Attackman Ben Aldridge led VHS with two goals and two assists while Gabe Kalasho recorded 12 goalkeeper saves.
Cayden Phillips scored three goals and Tristan Diaz added two more for Granite Hills in the team’s return to the Division I final but it wasn’t enough as junior Brady Berg was key for SFC with six goals.
The Eagles opened the playoffs with a 17-7 win over No. 8 Santana (10-12) in an all-East County quarterfinal pairing, then edged No. 5 St. Augustine (10-11x) by a score of 10-9 in the semifinals.
All four divisional boys finals were played at May 15-16 at Patrick Henry High School.
No. 1 Torrey Pines (15-3) won the Open Division boys title for the eighth consecutive season with a 15-4 win over No. 3 La Costa Canyon (12-7) while No. 2 Patrick Henry (13-6) won the Division II crown with a 9-7 win over No. 1 Westview (17-5).
It marked the third time in the last six seasons that Patrick Henry has won a CIF banner, adding to the 2021 Division II trophy and the 2022 Division I title.
Stone Timmons (first goal and final goal), Mac Schott (go-ahead goal) and Jake Heimann (second half) each scored two goals for Henry, which received one first-half goal from Frank Rote.
All four divisional girls finals were played at Canyon Crest Academy May 15-16.
Girls champions included No. 1 Coronado (Open Division), No. 3 La Jolla (Division I), No. 1 Pacific Ridge (Division II) and No. 2 Valley Center (Division III).
San Diego Section Lacrosse Playoffs
Boys Brackets
Open Division
Seeding (six teams): 1. Torrey Pines (13-3), 2. Cathedral Catholic (12-4), 3. La Costa Canyon (10-6), 4. Bishop’s (11-6), 5. Coronado (12-6), 6. Carlsbad (10-5)
Quarterfinal winners: (4) Bishop’s (8-7 over No. 5 Coronado), (3) La Costa Canyon (10-1 over No. 6 Carlsbad)
Semifinal winners: (1) Torrey Pines (9-4 over No. 4 Bishop’s), (3) La Costa Canyon (9-6 over No. 2 Cathedral Catholic)
Championship game: (1) Torrey Pines (15-3) 15, (3) La Costa Canyon (12-7) 4
Division I
Seeding (12 teams): 1. Granite Hills (15-3), 2. Santa Fe Christian (5-11), 3. San Marcos (12-7), 4. Del Norte (10-8), 5. St. Augustine (8-10), 6. San Dieguito Academy (10-8), 7. Poway (9-9), 8. Santana (9-11), 9. Pt. Loma (14-4), 10. La Jolla Country Day (8-10), 11. La Jolla (1-17), 12. Francis Parker (2-14)
First round winners: (8) Santana (8-7 over No. 9 Pt. Loma), (5) St. Augustine (18-6 over No. 12 Francis Parker), (6) San Dieguito Academy (11-5 over No. 11 La Jolla), (10) La Jolla Country Day (9-7 over No. 7 Poway)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Granite Hills (17-7 over No. 8 Santana), (5) St. Augustine (10-6 over No. 4 Del Norte), (3) San Marcos (15-3 over No. 6 San Dieguito Academy), (2) Santa Fe Christian (16-7 over No. 10 La Jolla Country Day)
Semifinal winners: (1) Granite Hills (10-9 over No. 5 St. Augustine), (2) Santa Fe Christian (11-6 over No. 3 San Marcos)
Championship game: (2) Santa Fe Christian (8-11) 11, (2) Granite Hills (17-4) 6
Division II
Seeding (13 teams): 1. Westview (15-4), 2. Patrick Henry (10-6), 3. Pacific Ridge (17-0), 4. Scripps Ranch (9-6), 5. University City (9-7), 6. El Capitan (12-5), 7. Rancho Bernardo (8-7), 8. Mt. Carmel (7-8), 9. Grossmont (10-7), 10. Classical Academy (11-7), 11. West Hills (10-8), 12. Mission Hills (11-8)
Play-in: Mission Hills 13, Eastlake 8 (for No. 12 seed)
First round winners: (9) Grossmont (13-9 over No. 8 Mt. Carmel), (5) University City (14-13 over No. 12 Mission Hills), (6) El Capitan (14-10 over No. 11 West Hills), (7) Rancho Bernardo (9-1 over No. 10 Classical Academy)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Westview (15-2 over No. 9 Grossmont), (4) Scripps Ranch (19-9 over No. 5 University City), (3) Pacific Ridge (10-4 over No. 6 El Capitan), (2) Patrick Henry (8-4 over No. 7 Rancho Bernardo)
Semifinal winners: (1) Westview (11-7 over No. 4 Scripps Ranch), (2) Patrick Henry (13-8 over No. 3 Pacific Ridge)
Championship game: (2) Patrick Henry (13-6) 9, (1) Westview (17-5) 7
Division III
Seeding (13 teams): 1. Valhalla (11-7), 2. Del Lago Academy (11-4), 3. Clairemont (16-1), 4. Olympian (12-6), 5. Bonita Vista (4-11), 6. Preuss UCSD (10-6), 7. Canyon Hills (14-4), 8. Sage Creek (6-9), 9. Mission Bay (11-6), 10. Foothills Christian (5-11), 11. Fallbrook (4-15), 12. Rancho Buena Vista (3-15)
Play-in: Rancho Buena Vista 9, Hilltop 4 (for No. 12 seed)
First round winners: (8) Sage Creek (13-8 over No. 9 Mission Bay), (5) Bonita Vista (17-1 over No. 12 Rancho Buena Vista), (6) Preuss UCSD (11-9 over No. 11 Fallbrook), (7) Canyon Hills (16-1 over No. 10 Foothills Christian)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Valhalla (19-2 over No. 8 Sage Creek), (4) Olympian (17-6 over No. 5 Bonita Vista), (3) Clairemont (12-9 over No. 6 Preuss UCSD), (2) Del Lago Academy (15-7 over No. 7 Canyon Hills)
Semifinal winners: (1) Valhalla (10-4 over No. 4 Olympian), (3) Clairemont (11-10 over No. 2 Del Lago Academy)
Championship game: (1) Valhalla (14-7) 6, (3) Clairemont (18-2) 5
Girls Brackets
Open Division
Seeding (6 teams): 1. Coronado (15-3), 2. La Costa Canyon (15-2), 3. San Marcos (14-4), 4. Cathedral Catholic (13-7), 5. Torrey Pines, (9-0) 6. Carlsbad (12-6)
Quarterfinal winners: (4) Cathedral Catholic (17-6 over No. 5 Torrey Pines), (6) Carlsbad (8-7 over No. 3 San Marcos)
Semifinal winners: (1) Coronado (21-4 over No. 4 Cathedral Catholic), (2) La Costa Canyon (17-3 over No. 6 Carlsbad
Championship game: (1) Coronado (17-3) 12, (2) La Costa Canyon (16-3) 9
Division I
Seeding (12 teams): 1. Scripps Ranch (9-9), 2. Del Norte (12-5), 3. La Jolla (10-7), 4. Mt. Carmel (12-7), 5. Bishop’s (14-6), 6. Francis Parker (10-7), 7. La Jolla Country Day (10-7), 8. Poway (6-11), 9. Patrick Henry (7-13), 10. Rancho Bernardo (11-8), 11. Canyon Crest Academy (5-15), 12. San Dieguito Academy (2-14)
First round winners: (8) Poway (18-9 over No. 9 Patrick Henry), (5) Bishop’s (19-2 over No. 12 San Dieguito Academy), (6) Francis Parker (16-8 over No. 11 Canyon Crest Academy), (7) La Jolla Country Day (15-9 over No. 10 Rancho Bernardo)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Scripps Ranch (16-4 over No. 8 Poway), (4) Mt. Carmel (16-5 over No. 5 Bishop’s), (3) La Jolla (16-9 over No. 6 Francis Parker), (2) Del Norte (17-5 over No. 7 La Jolla Country Day)
Semifinal winners: (4) Mt. Carmel (12-6 over No. 1 Scripps Ranch), No. 3 La Jolla (12-7 over No. 2 Del Norte)
Championship game: (3) La Jolla (18-7) 11, (4) Mt. Carmel (18-6) 10
Division II
Seeding (12 teams): 1. Pacific Ridge (14-3), 2. Tri-City Christian (13-4), 3. Canyon Hills (16-2), 4. Eastlake (13-3), 5. Sage Creek (12-8), 6. Mira Mesa (15-5), 8. Mission Hills (8-8), 9. Pt. Loma (13-6), 10. Mission Bay (10-8), 11. Granite Hills (7-8), 12. University City (5-16)
First round winners: (8) Mission Hills (11-6 over No. 9 Pt. Loma), (5) Sage Creek (15-12 over No. 12 University City), (6) Mira Mesa (9-4 over No. 11 Granite Hills), (7) Westview (10-7 over No. 10 Mission Bay)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Pacific Ridge (15-7 over No. 8 Mission Hills), (5) Sage Creek (10-4 over No. 4 Eastlake), (3) Canyon Hills (10-9 over No. 6 Mira Mesa), (2) Tri-City Christian (14-9 over No. 7 Westview)
Semifinal winners: (1) Pacific Ridge (13-9 over No. 5 Sage Creek), (2) Tri-City Christian (17-7 over No. 3 Canyon Hills)
Championship game: (1) Pacific Ridge (17-3) 10, (2) Tri-City Christian (15-5) 9
Division III
Seeding (12 teams): 1. Classical Academy (11-8), 2. Valley Center (15-2), 3. Mission Vista (14-3), 4. Our Lady of Peace (15-0), 5. Grossmont (15-1), 6. West Hills (7-13), 7. Del Lago Academy (4-11), 8. Santana (9-9), 9. Lincoln (13-4), 10. Vista (12-8-1), 11. Bonita Vista (12-10-1), 12. Clairemont (9-7)
First round winners: (8) Santana (11-7 over No. 9 Lincoln), (5) Grossmont (13-12 over No. 12 Clairemont), (6) West Hills (16-7 over No. 11 Bonita Vista), (10) Vista (14-7 over No. 7 Del Lago Academy)
Quarterfinal winners: (1) Classical Academy (20-5 over No. 8 Santana), (4) Our Lady of Peace (17-9 over No. 5 Grossmont), (3) Mission Vista (8-7 in overtime over No. 6 West Hills), (2) Valley Center (14-4 over No. 10 Vista)
Semifinal winners: (1) Classical Academy (11-10 over No. 4 Our Lady of Peace), (2) Valley Center (10-5 over No. 3 Mission Vista)
Championship game: (2) Valley Center (18-2) 13, (1) Classical Academy (13-9) 5
