Sixteen lucky and talented California high school volleyball teams will face off in the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state championship later this month.

The brackets for the SoCal and NorCal regionals won't be released until November 13, but here are our projections of which teams you can expect to see competing in the state Open division playoffs.

Click here to learn the nine rules you need to know to understand CIF open division.

Tune in right here on FloVolleyball, November 25, to watch the NorCal and SoCal Regional Championships.

PROJECTED SOCAL OPEN DIVISION TEAMS

(Results as of Nov. 6)

1. Torrey Pines (San Diego) 30-3

This team gained the No. 1 state ranking after a win over Archbishop Mitty in title match of Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. Torrey Pines also is top seed in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division.

2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 32-5

Head coach Dan O'Dell's squad was the Nike Tournament of Champions first-place finisher and the state's preseason No. 1. The Monarchs would be our projected winner (based on rankings) of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs and have made it to this week's semifinals.

3. Redondo (Redondo Beach) 34-4

The Sea Hawks had a tough road to reach the semifinals of the CIFSS D1 playoffs and therefore get into the Open Division, because they had to beat defending CIFSS D1 champ Santa Margarita in the quarterfinals. Redondo won on Saturday night 3-1. In losing, though, the silver lining for Santa Margarita is that it becomes the favorite to win this year's CIF Division I state title.

4. Marymount (Los Angeles) 29-7

Due to a recent head-to-head win over Mater Dei, the Sailors received the No. 1 seed for the CIFSS D1 playoffs. In most rankings, the Monarchs are higher for their overall resume.

5. Central (Fresno) 37-2

The top-seeded team from the CIF Central Section Division 1 playoffs also has climbed into the top 10 of the Cal-Hi Sports state rankings.

6. Canyon Crest (San Diego) 25-8

The Ravens are the No. 2 seed behind Torrey Pines in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs and look like a lock for the Open Division if they get to the finals.

7. Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) 20-6

Corona Del Mar came out of the side of the bracket that contained CIFSS D1 top-four seed Temecula Valley and gained its semifinal berth by topping Harvard-Westlake. A case could be made to choose one of the other CIFSS quarterfinalists for the Open division based on other results, but in previous years the CIF has simply picked the four semifinalists.

8. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 23-6

This last spot is more difficult to project. We know it won't go to a team from the L.A. City Section based on all available results and rankings. We also know that winning a state title from the year before like the Dons did last year in D2 makes it easier to move them up. If it's not Cathedral Catholic, Buchanan of Clovis is another strong possibility. The Bears just dropped a very close match to Central of Fresno, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise if they were to reverse that result in the section finals.

PROJECTED NORCAL OPEN DIVISION TEAMS

(Results as of Nov. 6)

1. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 31-5

It would really be a big upset if the Monarchs don't win the NorCal Open Division crown once again and then head down south for the state final. They have lost matches this year, but just one to a team from Northern California, and that was in the very first tourney of the season.

2. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 28-4

One of the reasons the Stockton Classic tourney each year is important for the NorCal Open Division is that it provides an opportunity for certain teams to play each other. The Wildcats, who were in the NorCal Open Division semifinals last season, beat 2016 NorCal Open finalist St. Ignatius (San Francisco) in the Stockton Classic semis before losing to Mitty in the finals. They therefore may get to host not one but two NorCal Open Division playoff games.

3. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 32-8

Most of the losses by the Wildcats are to Mitty, but they still project to be the runner-up to the Monarchs in the CCS Open Division. They lost to Mitty last year in the league playoffs, CCS Open finals, and in the NorCal Open finals.

4. Monte Vista (Danville) 32-2

The Mustangs probably will be back in the Cal-Hi Sports State top 20 by the time the CIF North Coast Section Division I playoffs are over. One loss was to Marin Catholic while the other was in an early morning match at the Stockton Classic.

5. Saint Francis (Mountain View) 24-12

We will list the Lancers in this position because they started the CCS Open Division playoffs as the No. 3 seed behind Mitty and St. Ignatius and because they have a head-to-head win against St. Francis of Sacramento.

6. Menlo School (Atherton) 29-4

This would be the fourth team from the CCS that already has made it into the CCS Open semifinals. The Knights defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco (which was in NorCal Open last year) 3-1 last Saturday.

7. St. Francis (Sacramento) 32-7

The Troubadours are the No. 1 seed for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 playoffs. They're eligible for the Open Division since they were in the NorCal D2 finals last year. Note that 31-4 Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) is not eligible for the NorCal Open Division and could only be chosen if it applies for it (not likely).

8. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 26-7

The Dragons are the top seed in the NCS D2 playoffs and this would be at least the third year in a row in which they've made the NorCal playoffs, which makes them eligible to be picked. Another team from NorCal that the CIF can't bring up to the Open is 35-3 James Logan of Union City. The Colts are seeded second behind Monte Vista in the NCS D1 playoffs. If there is a bye in the CIF Open Division bracket, giving one to Mitty in the north and not choosing an eighth team to travel to San Jose to face the defending state champions would make the most sense. And by the time Sunday rolls around, there may not be an eighth team the CIF can even find to play Mitty.

Watch the CIF NorCal and SoCal Open Division Regional Championships live on FloVolleyball, November 25.

Watch the CIF State Championships live on FloVolleyball, December 1-2.

By Mark Tennis