No. 1 Mira Costa Better Be on Top of Game in Varsity Classic

Who is No. 1 in Southern California prep volleyball?

Mira Costa High has occupied the spot all season, but the Mustangs will face a long list of challengers Saturday in the Redondo-Mira Costa Varsity Classic.

The 30-team tournament features 13 schools ranked in the Southern Section 4-A and 3-A Division polls, along with L.A. City Section power Palisades and defending City champion Chatsworth.

Other top-notch entries include University High of Irvine (ranked No. 3 in the Southern Section 4-A poll), No. 5 Dos Pueblos of Goleta, No. 8 San Marcos of Santa Barbara, No. 9 Corona del Mar and No. 10 Newport Harbor.

Teams from the Southern Section 3-A Division include No. 1 Arcadia, No. 3 Brentwood, No. 4 Harvard of North Hollywood and No. 5 Long Beach Poly.

Mira Costa (16-0), ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, features an imposing lineup headed by 6-foot-5 setter Canyon Ceman, 6-7 middle blocker Mike Ashenfelter and 6-5 middle blocker Pat Ivie.

Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Redondo and Mira Costa. The top two finishers from each of the six pools advance to the playoffs, which start at 5 p.m. at Redondo. The finals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Redondo.

The tournament represents the final non-league competition for Southern Section schools before the start of the playoffs May 11.

Following is a list of entries:

At Redondo, Pool 1: Woodbridge, Harvard, Long Beach Wilson, South Torrance, Los Alamitos; Pool 2: Dos Pueblos, Brentwood, Redondo, Rolling Hills, Roosevelt; Pool 3: Newport Harbor, Long Beach Poly, Loyola, South Pasadena, West Torrance; Pool 4: Corona del Mar, Arcadia, San Marcos, Chatsworth, St. Monica; Pool 5: Palisades, Los Altos, Marina, Torrance, Bishop Amat. At Mira Costa, Pool 6: Mira Costa, University of Irvine, Glendale, Palos Verdes, Westchester.