For the past four years, the Santa Fe Christian girls volleyball team has been a fixture in the state final, winning the Division V championship in 2003 and 2005.
Now in Division IV, the Eagles remain focused on returning to the state championship match.
But the uncertainty of competing in a different division is being compounded by a new process that will determine which teams gain entry to the San Diego Section playoffs and how they will be seeded.
“I've been worried about this format,” said Eagles coach Gail Malone, who is vying for a top seed in a division that includes defending state champion Francis Parker and Bishop's. “We've played tough competition, and I'm totally worried about what looks good on paper. I'm not comfortable with this at all.”
Volleyball is the first sport whose brackets will be determined by a process in which section Commissioner Dennis Ackerman seeds the five divisions and a committee of seven former coaches weighs in as the matchups are being finalized.
The brackets will be announced Saturday at 11 a.m.
Ackerman has declined to disclose the identity of the former coaches, saying only that they were designated by their respective conferences to make the best decision based on the information in front of them.
“I think you'll be surprised how well they do,” said Ackerman, who will charge the committee with reviewing what he calls his “rough version” and making any necessary suggestions for changes. “It's pretty much the same as before.”
Some coaches aren't sold.
“My biggest concern is too many decisions are being made with a lack of information,” said coach Dave Jones of La Jolla, defending section Division III champion. “The whole thing is still ambiguous to me.”
According to Ackerman, coaches will still submit paperwork in advance of Saturday's meeting, noting their opponents and records and what seed they believe their team deserves based on five evenly weighted criteria: head-to-head competition, league and season records, common opponents, strength of schedule and strength of their team at season's end.
In addition, the same league representatives who in past years determined which schools were in the playoffs and how they were seeded will be asked to submit their idea of which teams belong where in each division.
The previous process called for those ballots to be cast anonymously in the seeding meetings, drawing on information presented at the gathering and input from individual coaches who were afforded time to make a case for their team before the committee.
Under the new setup, league representatives provide that information the night before the meeting. It will be part of the equation used by Ackerman to create a draft for the committee of former coaches, but the league reps will have no direct say in the final brackets.
That weighs especially heavy on Granite Hills coach Dan Santos.
The Grossmont South League representative, Santos said he is feverishly collecting information from a variety of sources that will allow him to make the best recommendation possible.
“It kills me we can't have this discussion,” said Santos, whose Division I Granite Hills team finished behind league champion Valhalla, a Division II squad. “We really don't have a chance to plead our case.”
Teams consider a high seed crucial if they hope to reach the section final, which is the only way the schools can compete for a state title since the top two teams in Divisions II through V earn berths in the Southern California Regionals. In Division I, only the champion is guaranteed to reach the state playoffs. The runner-up can be considered for an at-large berth.
Ackerman said he hasn't heard too many concerns from coaches in the weeks leading up to the seeding meeting. At least one coach wasn't surprised.
“We haven't been told anything, so we don't know what to be concerned about,” Jones said. “We're in the dark.”
Nicole Vargas: (619) 293-1390; nicole.vargas@uniontrib.com
