Southern California high schools have long been a breeding ground for college volleyball recruits and perhaps no league is loaded with as much Division I talent this fall as the Bay League.
Many of the girls play club together, but when they put on their school jerseys the rivalries are intense, the rallies are long and the stakes are high.
A playoff atmosphere exists whenever the teams face each other because each result is crucial toward determining postseason seedings.
Redondo Union coach Tommy Chaffins compared the competitiveness in Bay League volleyball to that of the Trinity League in football. Palos Verdes coach Lacy Minzlaff said it is the best league in the country, and Mira Costa’s Cam Green admitted that in the Bay League there is no such thing as an easy match.
The margins are slight but the respect is immense.
Seventeen players in the five-team league are committed to Division I colleges, and that number could increase by season’s end. Heading to Stanford is senior outside hitter Kaci Demaria of Palos Verdes, the No. 7 recruit in her class. Two other Sea Kings seniors, twin sisters Mallory and Molly LaBreche, are primed to play beach for their respective universities — Mallory is going to UCLA and Molly to LSU — after they won the Southern Section pairs tournament in May.
Redondo Union, which avenged a five-set loss in the first round of league play with a four-set victory over Palos Verdes on Wednesday and edged Mira Costa in two close sets in Hawaii in August, boasts a lineup that features junior outside hitter Abby Zimmerman, an early commit to Cal, senior setter Bella Jones (San Diego State), junior middle blocker Taylor Boice (UC Irvine) and twins Addison and Avery Junk, juniors committed to play beach at Florida State. Addison is a defensive specialist and Avery is an opposite hitter for the Sea Hawks.
Mira Costa is trying to defend the title and the Mustangs from Manhattan Beach have gone undefeated in league play thus far, paced by Wisconsin-bound junior hitter Audrey Flanagan, who pounded a team-high 330 kills through the squad’s first 25 matches.
Two Mustangs are committed to play indoor at USC — junior setter Milly McGee, who has proved a worthy successor to the graduated Charlie Fuerbringer, who is now at Wisconsin, and senior libero Taylor Deckert, who averages 5.2 digs per set.
Green, a 1992 Mira Costa alum, has several other players on his roster who have made verbal commitments as juniors: setter Reese Stringer (Penn), middle blocker Bridget Blu (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), outside hitter Simone Roslon (Stanford) and opposite Ruby Cochrane, who has opted to play beach for the Cardinal. Outside hitter and starter Cayenne Ceman (daughter of former Stanford All-American and AVP Tour player Canyon Ceman), also a junior, has multiple offers.
In April, Flanagan paired with Giselle Yau at the No. 1 spot to help Mira Costa repeat as CIF beach champion with a 4-1 victory over Redondo Union as the two rallied to defeat Zimmerman and her partner Victoria Henkel, 18-21, 21-19, 15-12. In the first round of the Bay League beach pairs bracket, the LaBreche twins beat the Junk sisters and in the final they ousted Deckert and Mira Costa teammate Olga Nikolaeva.
Not to be overlooked are El Segundo junior outside hitter Macy Ludwig, who is committed to play beach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Torrance senior middle blocker Kalyssa Blackshear, who is headed to Louisville, which is presently the No. 4-ranked indoor program in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
Host Torrance held off El Segundo in four spirited sets Wednesday after sweeping the Eagles on their home court in the teams’ first league meeting Sept. 17.
Mira Costa is ranked No. 2 in the latest Southern Section Division 1 poll, Palos Verdes is No. 8 and Redondo Union is the top-rated team in Division 2.
Redondo Union and Mira Costa met in the finals of the Redondo Power Classic on Saturday afternoon, and the Sea Hawks overcame a 19-14 deficit in the second set to prevail 25-22 to complete a sweep, taking the championship of their two-day tournament for the first time since 2019 without dropping a set.
Zimmerman was named most valuable player after a roof on match point and joining her on the All-Tournament team were Boice and Sea Hawks junior libero Rowan DeVore. McGee and Deckert made all-tournament for the Mustangs.
League action resumes Tuesday when Palos Verdes hosts Mira Costa and El Segundo hosts Redondo Union.
Bay League Division I volleyball commitments
Player; School; Grade; Pos.; College
Macy Ludwig; El Segundo; Junior; OH; Cal Poly (beach)
Audrey Flanagan; Mira Costa; Junior; OH; Wisconsin
Milly McGee; Mira Costa; Junior; S; USC
Taylor Deckert; Mira Costa; Senior; L/DS; USC
Bridget Blu; Mira Costa; Junior; MB; Cal Poly
Reese Stringer Mira Costa Junior S Penn
Ruby Cochrane; Mira Costa; Junior; OH; Stanford (beach)
Simone Roslon; Mira Costa; Junior; OH; Stanford
Kaci Demaria; Palos Verdes; Senior; OH; Stanford
Mallory LaBreche; Palos Verdes; Senior; S; UCLA (beach)
Molly LaBreche; Palos Verdes; Senior; L/DS; LSU (beach)
Abby Zimmerman; Redondo Union; Junior; OPP; California
Addi Junk; Redondo Union; Junior; L/DS; Florida St. (beach)
Avery Junk; Redondo Union; Junior; OPP; Florida St. (beach)
Taylor Boice; Redondo Union; Junior; MB; UC Irvine
Bella Jones; Redondo Union; Senior; S; San Diego St.
Kalyssa Blackshear; Torrance; Senior; MB; Louisville
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.