CIF state volleyball: Valley Christian, Crystal Springs Uplands win championships

Valley Christian wins Division I state crown, beating Palos Verdes in four sets. Crystal Springs captures D-V title.

ORANGE — Valley Christian won the CIF Division I state championship at Santiago Canyon College on Friday night, defeating powerful Palos Verdes 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23.

Charley Staats led the Warriors (26-10) with 26 kills, followed by Addison Carbonara with 21 kills and freshman opposite Whitney Fleming with 12 kills.

The Warriors won the CIF title in their first appearance since 2016, capping a four-year run of three appearances with two titles. Both Staats and Carbonara, both 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9, play libero in club volleyball and have had success against a much taller SoCal powerhouse.

“The key is to be able to move the ball around and set the ball quickly so that the block does not set up,” Valley Christian setter Hailey Newell explained.

Kendall Beshear led Palos Verdes (25-12) with 30 kills and a.311 attack percentage. Beshear is a Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo commit whose club team won the Junior Nationals 17s Open Division.

Middle Daniela Rusich finished with 14 kills. The Sea Kings competed in the Southern Section’s prestigious eight-team Open Division before winning the SoCal Division I championship. They also have Mallory Labreche, a UCLA beach commit, and Molly Labreche, an LSU beach commit, as setters.

“The difference was our serving and passing,” said Valley Christian coach Ron Whitmill. “We kept service pressure on them the entire game.” We’re in big trouble if we let them into the system.”

The Warriors finished fifth in the seven-team West Catholic Athletic League, but the experience hardened them, and they played fearlessly and defensively, led by libero Michael Torkaman.

Valley Christian dominated the first set, but the Sea Kings faltered in the second.

Valley Christian broke a 19-19 tie in the third set with two Carbonara kills and the final three points from Staats on a tip and two kills through the block.

In the fourth set, the formula was repeated. Staats scored the final two points off the Sea Kings’ block to tie the game at 23-23.

DIVISION V

Crystal Springs Uplands defeated Oceanside 17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 16-25, 15-11 to win its first CIF State volleyball championship. Gabby Tomatis led the Gryphons (27-4) with 16 kills, Ellie Lee had 10 kills, and Elle Beebe had nine kills, three solo blocks, and three combination blocks. Oceanside (24-12) was led by Faye Naotala, who had 24 kills.

The back-and-forth match was decided by libero Bianca Sladewski’s serving, which totaled 10 aces, tying her for second all-time in a CIF State finals match. Her nine-point serving streak, which included five aces, decided the third set. Following a Pirates’ rebound in the fourth set, Sladewski served nine consecutive points to open the decisive fifth set.