Marymount Spikers Top Preseason Poll

The first CIF Southern Section preseason sports polls of the fall season have been released and it's no surprise that Marymount High School is No. 1 in the girls volleyball Division 1A poll. 

The poll was voted on, coordinated and finalized by the CIF Southern Section Girls Volleyball Coaches Advisory Committee. The polls will be updated every week throughout the season.

Marymount, an all-girls Catholic school across the street from UCLA, has been a perennial volleyball power for over a decade under 2010 CIF Coach of the Year Cari Klein, who has guided the program to six state championships since 2000 and seven CIF titles over the last 10 seasons.

The Sailors captured the Southern Section Division 1A championship last November, defeating Redlands East Valley 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, in the finals at Cypress College. 

The Sailors then swept Bakersfield Centennial in the opening round of the state playoffs before falling to Long Beach Poly, the eventual Southern California Regional champion.

The rest of the initial Division 1A poll is as follows: 2. Corona del Mar; 3. Laguna Beach; 4. Vista Murrieta; 5. Valencia; 6. Los Osos; 7. Murrieta Valley; 8. Redlands East Valley; 9. El Dorado; and 10. Notre Dame Academy, which plays in the Sunshine League with Marymount.

Los Alamitos is the preseason favorite in Division 1AA. Rounding out the list of initial No. 1 schools are St. Lucy's (Division 2AA), Downey (Division 2A), Pasadena Poly (Division 3AA), Campbell Hall (Division 3A), St. Margaret's (Division 4AA), Hemet (Division 4A), Desert Christian Academy (Division 5AA) and Firebaugh (Division 5A).

The girls volleyball season officially begins August 29 and the playoffs will start November 7. The CIF Southern Section finals will be Nov. 18-19 at Cypress College and the state tournament will be from Nov. 22 to December 3.