Temecula Prep's girls volleyball team is two wins from a CIF Southern Section Division 6 championship game after back-to-back five-set playoff victories on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Thursday, Oct. 22.
The Patriots (29-7) defeated St. Bonaventure of Ventura 3-2 on Oct. 22 to advance to the quarterfinals, according to playoff results published by the Los Angeles Times. Individual set scores from that match were not available at publication time.
Temecula Prep will travel to San Juan Capistrano to face Capistrano Valley Christian (16-16) on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m., according to the CIF Southern Section bracket and MaxPreps.
St. Bonaventure entered the second round at 19-5 after beating Woodbridge of Irvine 3-1 in Round 1, according to MaxPreps.
The Round 2 win came two days after Temecula Prep rallied past Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles in five sets at home. The Patriots took the first two sets 26-24 and 25-20, dropped the next two 22-25 and 21-25, then closed out the match 15-11 in the fifth, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The school's athletics site described the home crowd at the Round 1 match: "The crowd was active and their energy was palpable spurring the team on."
The Patriots are rolling. Temecula Prep entered the playoffs as the South Valley League's No. 1 seed with a 14-0 league record and a 12-0 home mark, per the CIF bracket and MaxPreps.
Capistrano Valley Christian, the San Joaquin League's No. 3 seed, reached the quarterfinals by beating Rowland 3-1 in Round 1 and Ridgecrest Burroughs 3-2 in Round 2, according to the CIF bracket and the Los Angeles Times. The Eagles carry a .500 record but have won both playoff matches.
A win Tuesday would send the Patriots to the Division 6 semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the higher seed's home court. The CIF finals are scheduled for Nov. 6 or Nov. 7 at a site to be announced.
