Taft girls volleyball, seeking first title in a decade, gets top seed in L.A. City Section Open Division playoffs

Taft has won five L.A. City girls volleyball titles in program history, but the Toreadors are still seeking their first Open Division championship.

Following losses in the Open Division finals the past two years, Taft begins its pursuit of a potential third consecutive appearance in the championship match as the top seed in the eight-team playoffs, which begin Oct. 30 and conclude Nov. 9 at Cal State Northridge.

Taft (37-7), which has made 13 finals appearances in program history, is scheduled to face No. 8 Marshall (22-11) in the quarterfinals.

The Toreadors, led by Claudia Aber, Aleiah Carr, Colette Ejang, Francine Baltazar-Shine and Gianella Tijamo, captured the West Valley League title and are looking to reach three consecutive finals for only the second time, following four straight appearances in the Division 2 championship match from 2011-14.

Taft’s last title came in 2014 with a sweep of Sylmar in the Division 2 final, with the Toreadors suffering four-set setbacks to Granada Hills in the 2022 Open Division championship and El Camino Real last year.

Venice (33-4), which won the Open Division crown in 2021, received the No. 2 seed and is scheduled to square off against No. 7 Chatsworth (26-18) in the quarterfinals.

The Gondoliers, featuring Gaia Adeseun-Williams, Aaliyah Baskett, Pauline Lao and Kaya Richards, are seeking their fourth City championship, along with winning the Division 2 title in 2012 and Division 1 crown in 2016.

Palisades (26-10), winner of a record 30 City Section girls volleyball titles, earned the No. 3 seed and squares off against reigning champion and No. 6 El Camino Real (12-14).

The Dolphins, led by Tulah Block, Bianca Dolotta and Hazel Irving, last captured the Open Division crown in 2020. Palisades also prevailed in the Open Division final in 2018.

El Camino Real is trying to become the second program to capture back-to-back Open Division titles, along with Granada Hills in 2016-17.

Granada Hills (21-11), a seven-time City Section champion and winner of the most Open Division crowns with three titles, received the No. 4 seed and is scheduled to match up against West Valley League rival and fifth-seeded Cleveland (18-16).

The Cavaliers, pursuing their first City Section championship in any division, rebounded from being swept Sept. 23 by Granada Hills to produce a four-set victory Oct. 9 against the Highlanders.

Eagle Rock (23-15) earned the top seed in the Division 1 playoffs, Granada Hills Kennedy (22-10) is No. 1 in Division 2, Reseda (13-3) leads the field in Division 3, Panorama (24-8) secured the top spot in Division 4 and Huntington Park (6-8) begins its quest for a Division 5 title atop the bracket, with all five programs receiving first-round byes Oct. 28 and opening the postseason Oct. 30.