Panther water polo earns No. 1 seed

The CIF Central Section released its 2009 fall playoff brackets for water polo and volleyball on Friday and no Orange Belt team is in better position than the dominant Porterville girls’ water polo squad.

EYL-champion Porterville (23-1, 12-0 EYL) has a first-round bye in the Division II bracket and will host the winner of the 8-9 matchup (Yosemite-Kingsburg) at 5 p.m., Thursday.

The Panthers shouldn’t be seriously tested until the semifinals when they’ll likely face No. 4 Edison or No. 5 Golden West.

Monache, which lost handily to Porterville in both meetings, got the No. 3 seed and also has a bye. The Marauders will take on No. 6 Sunnyside on quarterfinal Thursday as well.

Exeter earned the No. 7 seed and will play No. 2 El Diamante, the defending champions, on Thursday.

Boys’ Water Polo

The CIF didn’t give the two traditional EYL powers a very favorable draw this season, as second-place Porterville and third-place Monache garnered double-digit seeds.

The Panthers (10-2 EYL) are Division II’s No. 10 seed and travel to Kingsburg at 5 p.m., Tuesday. Monache (9-3 EYL), the 11th seed (the lowest in the bracket), will head to Fresno to take on No. 6 Sunnyside that same night.

Dinuba (11-1 EYL), the EYL champion, received the second seed.

Volleyball

Four Orange Belt squads are heading to the volleyball playoffs with three getting home games.

Division III’s defending champion, Exeter (22-7, 9-3 CSL) is the No. 2 seed an has a strong chance to repeat despite not boasting as strong of a team as 2008. Their two CSL rivals, including undefeated league champ Central Valley Christian, are in Division IV.

The Monarchs have a bye into the quarterfinals and will host the winner of No. 7 Clovis North and No. 10 McLane (Fresno) at 7 p.m., Thursday.

No. 8 Granite Hills (16-11, 6-6 EYL) is on the other side of the D-III bracket and hosts No. 9 Hoover (10-20, 2-8 County/Metro) at 7 p.m., Tuesday.

Should the Grizzlies get by the Patriots, the No. 1 Tehachapi Warriors (26-4, 10-0 SSL), the 2008 runners-up, await.

The Marauders, Division II’s No. 11 seed have easily the toughest draw. They’ll have to win four games and win them all on the road to win the title. Monache’s first step comes Tuesday night against No. 6 Edison (17-10, 6-4 County/Metro).

The EYL powers, champion Tulare Union, and Tulare Western also have a tough road, as the CIF evidently didn’t think the EYL was on par with the other Division II leagues, as they are seeded seventh and ninth, respectively.

ESL champion Strathmore (27-6, 7-1 ESL) rounds out the playoff competitors, as they move up to Division IV this year. The Spartans host the Kingsburg Vikings (12-12, 6-6 CSL).

If the Spartans win, they’ll meet No. 2-seeded Immanuel in the quarterfinals.