Newbury Park girls volleyball earned a home playoff game.
The Panthers will host Corona Santiago in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. on Nori Parvin Court, according to the Newbury Park High athletics department. The CIF Southern Section released playoff pairings on Friday, Oct. 16.
Newbury Park finished second in the Marmonte League with an 8-2 record in league play, according to MaxPreps. The Panthers won three of their final four regular-season matches. That stretch included a 3-0 sweep of Westlake, a 3-0 win over Calabasas on Oct. 6 and a five-set road victory over Thousand Oaks on Oct. 13.
The only loss in the final four matches came Oct. 1 at Oaks Christian, which went undefeated in Marmonte League play at 10-0 and is ranked No. 15 in the state, according to Sports Illustrated's Oct. 13 state rankings.
The Panthers, coached by C. Forrest, enter the postseason ranked No. 11 in CIF-SS Division 3 and No. 39 in the Southern Section overall, per MaxPreps. Corona Santiago, based in Corona, carried a 14-8 record and a No. 48 overall Southern Section ranking as of Oct. 6 CIF computer rankings published by Sports Illustrated.
As we reported Oct. 15, the Panthers were awaiting their CIF-SS pairing after wrapping up the Marmonte League season. That matchup is set.
The Division 3 bracket features four other first-round games on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Those matchups include Redlands at Rosary, Murrieta Mesa at Etiwanda, Claremont at Corona del Mar and Chaparral at Crescenta Valley, according to the Daily Bulletin. All first-round matches are scheduled for 6 p.m., though dates, sites and times are subject to change.
The CIF-SS finals are scheduled for Nov. 5-7. A win Wednesday would advance Newbury Park to the second round.
