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Get ready for the North Coast Section playoffs!
Volleyball and lacrosse kick things off this week with the first and second rounds taking place. NCS swimming and diving also takes place this week.
The NCS singles/doubles tennis tournament takes place Friday to Saturday in Santa Rosa.
Here is a look at the sports heading into NCS:
Boys’ volleyball Division I
Foothill, the EBAL regular season and playoff champions, was seeded first in the D-I tournament. Granada, second in the regular season and in the playoffs, was seeded No. 6, with Amador Valley getting the No. 7 seed.
Foothill (26-6, 13-0) gets a bye in the first round on Tuesday (April 30) and will play host to the winner of the Clayton Valley (8) and Berkeley (9) match on Thursday.
Amador will play host to No. 10 Deer Valley on Tuesday night, with the winner moving on to play at No. 2 Castro Valley on Thursday.
The Dons beat Deer Valley 2-0 earlier in the season and more recently had a 2-0 win over Castro Valley a couple weeks back in the finals of the Falcon Invitational at Foothill.
Granada will play host to No. 11 American on Tuesday, with the winner going to No. 3 Liberty on Thursday.
Granada and Amador could potentially play in the semifinals next week. The two sides split matches this year, with the Mats winning 3-1 at home earlier this year, and the Dons holding serve with a 3-1 win in the second half of the EBAL season.
D-II
In the D-II volleyball playoffs, De La Salle was seeded No. 3 and will host Benicia on Tuesday. The winner moves on to face the winner of Redwood (6) and Arroyo (11) on Thursday.
Livermore was seeded No. 8 and will host El Cerrito (9) on Tuesday. The winner moves on to face the winner of top seeded Northgate and No. 16 Windsor on Thursday.
Boys’ lacrosse D-I
There are three EBAL teams in the D-I playoffs, with De La Salle (3), San Ramon Valley (6) and Foothill (9) getting spots in the field.
De La Salle has a bye in the first round and will face the winner of San Ramon Valley and No. 11 Piedmont on Tuesday night.
The Wolves did not face Piedmont this season and lost to De La Salle 18-5 in their one meeting this year.
Foothill will travel to No. 8 Casa Grande on Tuesday, with the winner going to top-seeded Marin Catholic on Thursday.
D-II
Livermore got the No. 2 seed in the division and will host No. 15 San Rafael on Tuesday night.
The winner will face the winner of the Novato (7) at Cardinal Newman game on Tuesday night.
Justin-Siena (15-4, 8-0) of Napa is the top-seed in the division.
Girls’ lacrosse D-I
Five EBAL teams earned spots, led by top-seeded San Ramon Valley (17-1, 9-0).
Carondelet (4), Amador Valley (5), Monte Vista (6), and California (7) are the other four local teams.
San Ramon’s lone loss came to St. Ignatius College Prep by a 14-10 final.
The Wolves beat Carondelet 17-8, Amador 17-6, Monte Vista 16-3, and California 11-3.
The Dons open at home with No. 12 Novato on Tuesday, with the winner taking on the winner of the Las Lomas at Carondelet game.
If the seeds play out, Carondelet, who beat Amador 15-10 early in the season, would host the Dons on Thursday.
California opens at home against No. 10 College Park on Tuesday and a win would send the Grizzlies to No. 2 Redwood on Thursday.
Cal fell to Redwood 12-9 in a non-league meeting.
Finally, Monte Vista will host No. 11 Berkeley, with the winner facing the Marin Catholic (3)-Rancho Cotate (14) winner on Thursday.
The Mustangs beat Berkeley 15-4 this season in a non-league game.
NCS tennis
The singles/doubles portion of NCS takes place Friday and Saturday of this week at the La Cantera Tennis Club in Santa Rosa.
The NCS team tennis tournament takes place May 7, 9 and 11.
NCS swimming and diving
The diving competition takes place Wednesday, with the swimming trials on Friday, and the finals on Saturday.
All days will be at the Concord Community Pool.
Stunt
California was the top-seed, and the Grizzlies came through in fine fashion, running off three wins to take the NCS Stunt title.
The Grizzlies beat No. 8 Alhambra 24-0, No. 4 Freedom 22-5, and No. 2 Liberty 18-11 to take the title.
Other EBAL teams were Amador Valley (5) who lost 20-6 Freedom, and Monte Vista (6) who lost to Clayton Valley (3) 24-0.
The Grizzlies earned a berth in the state meet on May 10-11.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation. To sign up for free, visit https://www.pleasantonweekly.com/express/sports/.