If the Palisades High boys varsity volleyball team continues to play the way it did in its regular season finale there is no telling how far it can go in the City playoffs. Seeded eighth out of 32 teams, the Dolphins (10-3) will host 25th-seeded Valley Alternative (6-2) in the first round tonight at 7 p.m. Should Palisades win, it would host either No. 9 Carson (11-2) or No. 24 Hollywood (6-7) in the second round next Tuesday night. Palisades secured second place in the Western League by sweeping host University, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 on Monday, reversing an earlier five-game loss to the Wildcats. Senior setter Rusty Barneson directed the Dolphins’ attack expertly, allowing Brandon Bryant and Jonathan Peters to control the net while co-captain Lucas Pols, Joey Sarafian and Beck Johnson delivered crushing spikes from both sides of the court. West Valley League champion Granada Hills (12-1) is seeded No. 1 and defending City champion Chatsworth (11-2) is No. 2. Western League champion Venice (11-2) is seeded sixth. The City finals will be May 13 at Cal State Northridge. Baseball The Dolphins continued to steamroll through the Western League, beating Venice 22-0 in five innings last Wednesday, then scoring five runs in the second inning on their way to a 6-2 victory over second-place Westchester Monday at George Robert Field. Senior pitcher David Bromberg (5-0) had 10 strikeouts and three hits. Against Venice, Bromberg hit a grand slam home run and Dylan Cohen added a three-run homer as Palisades scored 13 runs before the Gondos recorded their first out. Palisades (13-4, 9-0) has outscored its league opponents 94-7 and has won five games inside seven innings. Softball Palisades (4-11, 1-7) lost 15-1 at Westchester on Monday, managing only two hits. The Dolphins travel to Hamilton for a league today and close league play at Stadium by the Sea against University, which Pali defeated 7-5 in their previous meeting. City playoffs begin Tuesday, May 10. Tennis A 6-1 victory over University Monday at Stoner Park assured Palisades’ varsity team of an unblemished league record and a likely top four seed in the City Section playoffs, which begin next week. Top singles player Adam Deloje, who has not lost a league match this season, is the No. 1 rated player in the Western League while fellow Dolphins Seth Mandelkern and Darya Bakhtiar are the top-ranked doubles team. Playoff seedings will be determined tonight and first-round matches will be played next Monday at 2:30 p.m. Round robin scoring, in which 29 1/2 points are available, will replace the head-to-head format used during league play.
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