Redondo escaped a possible upset Tuesday night fending off visiting Clovis East in the first round of the CIF State Division 1 Girls Volleyball Championships.
Coming off a disappointing four-set loss to Mater Dei in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA finals on Saturday, Redondo is the fourth seed in the Southern California Regional bracket and needed a gut check to hold off fifth-seeded Clovis East for a 25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 23-25, 15-8 victory.
Clovis East captured the CIF-Central Section Division 1 title last Saturday.
“Our experience from last year has helped us deal with adversity,” said Megan Rice, Redondo’s kill leader this season. “We need to play better in the State tournament.”
It won’t be easy for Redondo (34-4) to repeat as State champions as the Sea Hawks, who are ranked No. 5 in the state by MaxPreps.com, must travel to face Torrey Pines (35-1), the top-ranked team in the state and top seed in the Southern California Regionals in a 7 p.m. match on Saturday.
The winner advances to the Regional finals on Tuesday playing the victor between second-seeded Mater Dei and sixth-seeded Trabuco Hills.
In Division 2, fifth-seeded Chadwick (28-4) eliminated fourth-seeded Liberty 2-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-15 and will travel to top-seeded Canyon Crest Academy (29-7) for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday.
Brackets and results available at cifstate.org.
