It will be a case of one team with a home court advantage versus another one with gobs of state championship experience when ASICS Flo50 nationally ranked powerhouses Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) and Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, CA) collide in Saturday's CIF Open Division state championship at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, CA.

CIF Open Division State Tournament

Entering the championship match, the Santa Margarita Eagles, who are playing not far from their Orange County campus, are No. 2 in this week's Flo50. Even if they dispatch of No. 4 Mitty in the title match; however, odds are next to none that Santa Margarita would be placed No. 1 in next week's final rankings since current No. 1 Mother McAuley (Chicago, Illinois) is in the clubhouse with an Illinois state title.

See this week's ASICS Flo50 Girls' High School Volleyball Rankings

In the state championship match against Mitty, the Eagles will have a chance to avenge one of their losses from earlier this season. In their 2-0 loss at the Durango Fall Classic to the Monarchs, Santa Margarita had just eight combined kills from its pair of big hitters, Meghan McClure and Sarah Ciszek. Both players hit negative in that match in September, but they've combined to average 7.1 kills per set this season.

Santa Margarita earned its spot in the state final with a straight-set victory over Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach last Saturday, despite allowing All-American Lexi Sun to put away 28 kills. This will be the school's first state final appearance since 2003.

Mitty, on the other hand, will be looking for its 13th CIF state championship and its fifth in a row. None of its previous state titles, of course, have come in the Open Division, since it is being held in girls' volleyball for the first time this year.

With a balanced attack, the Monarchs have four players averaging at least 2.8 kills per set, led by junior Nicole Liddle with 3.4. When Mitty defeated the Eagles in straight sets earlier this season at the Durango tournament, Candice Denny had 11 kills, and the Monarchs outhit the Eagles .276 to 0.31.

To get to the state final, Mitty defeated St. Ignatius of San Francisco in straight sets.

CIF Division I State Tournament

In the CIF Division I state tournament, Edison knocked off Huntington Beach in the Southern California final, moving up from No. 31 to No. 22 in this week's Flo50 and advancing to the program's first DI state championship match.

Edison's Hannah Phair has been team's leading weapon on offense for most of the season, and she will enter the state finals riding high off of a 17-kill performance. Taylor Gray and Cassidy Dennison are other players to keep an eye out for in the title match.

With the victory, Edison moved up to No. 4 in California even though the team went 1-2 in matches against Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach, including a loss in the CIF Southern Section DI quarterfinals that knocked the Chargers from the Open Division. They do have a win over Santa Margarita this season and have done enough in other matches to overcome Mira Costa in the rankings.

By Mark Tennis

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