Etiwanda spot in volleyball playoffs raises issues

No matter what sport, what division there is always a question when it comes to who got in and who is playing who.

In volleyball this fall the debate center around Etiwanda which made it into the Division 1A draw despite finishing dead last in the six-team Baseline League, getting in ahead of fourth-place Los Osos and fifth-place Upland.

When asked, CIF officials said it was because Etiwanda, despite being 1-9 in league play, had an overall record of 11-10 while Los Osos, which has traditionally been one of the better teams in the area, had a down year and finished 12-20 overall, 4-6 in the Baseline.

Upland was 5-10 overall, 2-8 in league play.

So go out and play a weak schedule and you get rewarded. There is something wrong about that.

Just who did Etiwanda beat? Somebody named Guidance Charter who was 0-11. Never heard of them.

It beat 1-20 Chino, 1-20 Chaffey, 2-20 Antelope Valley among others.

Meanwhile Los Osos played in one of the top tournaments in the country in the Durango Classic in Las Vegas, among others.

The Grizzlies schedule included the likes of Alta Loma (No. 1 in 4AA), Village Christian (No. 1 2AA), South Torrance (No. 2 in 2AA), Riverside King (No. 4 in 1A), all playoff seeded teams. Also Serrano and Santa Monica, both ranked in the top 7 of their respective divisions.

CIF spokesman Thom Simmons said in an e-mail football and basketball are the only sports in which you can advance to the playoffs with a losing record. That was change a few years back.

Maybe its time to have a uniform policy across the board.

No offense to the girls or coaches at Etiwanda. They were probably as surprised as anyone to see that they got in. And they did win their last match of the season against Upland to boost their record above .500. But common sense ought to prevail too.

Los Osos also has great tradition and that should account for something too.

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