Following another league title and undefeated league record, the
Live Oak High boys volleyball team is about to enter more
challenging territory
— the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
Following another league title and undefeated league record, the Live Oak High boys volleyball team is about to enter more challenging territory — the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
After easing past Alisal in three games in its league finale on Friday, the Acorns (23-3 overall, 14-0 in TCAL) found themselves seeded No. 9 in the section playoffs at the CCS seeding meeting.
That means Live Oak, as a league champion, will host No. 8 Leland (21-12 overall) in a CCS first-round match on Thursday at 7 p.m.
And, Acorn coach James Uthes said his team has its work cut out for it.
“We’ll just try to get past the first round,” Uthes said. “No Live Oak (boys volleyball) team has ever made it past the first round of CCS. If we play together as a team our chances are good.”
Leland finished second in the Blossom Valley Athletic League this season but is seeded higher than Live Oak based on the CCS points system, which awards points based on strength of schedule and league.
The BVAL is an “A” rated league while the TCAL is a “B” rated league.
Last season, Live Oak also finished undefeated in league play but lost in the first round of the CCS playoffs to Aptos.
Uthes said he was encouraged by the Acorns’ play in last week’s league finale, in which Live Oak pasted an injury-hindered Alisal team 25-19, 25-12, 25-16. Uthes said the three-game victory was welcome after a lengthy string of four-game matches.
“I thought everybody played really, really well,” Uthes said. “Everybody did their jobs. We came out and played hard.”
Live Oak’s Chris Deem had a match-high 16 kills while Cameron Bassett added 15 kills for the Acorns.
