The 2026 high school volleyball season is underway with a wave of talented players taking the court across the local CIF Southern Section and City Section teams.
Teams like Burroughs, Royal, El Camino Real, Newbury Park and Village Christian will look to return to the postseason for deep runs, while others strive to break into the postseason.
The Mission League still runs through Loyola, but Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame continue to shape up to the Cubs. The Wolverines have been led early on by senior Silas Liftin-Harris. Junior Jackson Hubbard has been effective on both sides of the ball with his hitting and blocking, while sophomore libero Rowan Green has kept the back row intact. For Notre Dame, Miklos Horvath will be a force at the outside spot while Chaminade returns senior pin hitters Jordan and Jackson Shirley.
Camarillo and Royal are looking for their second straight Coastal Canyon League titles. All-CIF outside hitter Donald Flemming returns for the Highlanders with fellow juniors Vaughn Rizzo, Grant Herzer and setter Micha Park.
The Foothill League remains scoured with talent, but the coaches agree there doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming favorite for the title.
Valencia returns all-league middle blocker Dylan McFatridge and outside hitter Dylan Murphy, while Canyon returns one of the league’s top outside hitters in Blake Hastings. West Ranch enters a new era after graduating the two-time area Player of the Year Noah Douphner. The former outside hitter’s younger brother, Jake Douphner, will aim to fill the void, but the Wildcats will be strong on their first two touches with libero Isaac Lane and returning setter Stephen Choi. Castaic and Saugus will feature strong right-side attacks led by Gabe Reinwand and Josh Lane, respectively.
Burroughs and Crescenta Valley will be in the mix for the last Pacific League title before the league merges with the Rio Hondo League next season. Burroughs returns all-CIF outside hitter Noah Duffield and will get a boost from middle blocker Skyy Alston. The Falcons will rely heavily on junior outside Evan Haytayan and senior opposite Sena Hunter.
Thousand Oaks returns libero of the year Zachary Kochel; the senior will serve as the Lancers’ outside hitter in 2026. Kochel spent time at outside last season and now takes on the role full-time while Isaiah Aguilar takes over at libero. Eli Panga returns in the middle, Jayson Hill will play right side, while Westlake transfer Drew Lum also joins the Lancers after the sitout period.
For the Warriors, 6-foot-7-inch Bennett Julian returns at outside for his junior season. Julian will be the focal point of the offense, looking for its second straight Marmonte League championship. The Warriors and Lancers finished as co-champions last season, so middles Jocund Binder and Alman Hassan will look to be part of the winning recipe for an outright title in 2026.
Other names to keep an eye on in the Marmonte League are Agoura outside Jack Smolarski, Oaks Christian middle Curran Pendergaft and setter-opposite Ryker Daniels.
Village Christian will look to make a run at the Olympic League title with 6-foot-6-inch Danny Franco and Alex Kazaryan leading the way.
City Section
Chatsworth returns its talented senior class, highlighted by right side Noa Beauregard and middle blocker Grant Chang. Kevin Baraja also returns to anchor the backrow while freshman Andrew Ma has won the starting setter position and been pivotal in the Chancellor’s undefeated start.
Granada will also be in the mix for a West Valley League title with outside hitter Romar Acdan and Raphael Francisco returning for longtime coach Tom Harp. Taft has also been off to an impressive start of 7-1 and a San Gabriel Classic Tournament championship despite graduating 14 seniors from last year’s Division I City title team. The Toreadors feature four sophomores in the starting lineup and will be led by junior middle Desmond Eng.
East Valley volleyball has to be feeling good going into 2026. Coach Bryan Ronsayro is on a heater, having won City titles with the Falcons boys and girls teams in the 2025 calendar year. Now the defending City Division II champs return the bulk of their roster with a shot at back-to-back titles.
Kennedy is looking for its fourth Valley Mission League title in five years, but will likely see a good push from Sylmar. Colin Chong returns at outside for the Golden Cougars, while sophomore Tyler Clark will be a name to remember for the Spartans.
North Hollywood and Grant are gunning for the East Valley League championship, a title the Lancers have grasped for four straight years with just one league loss in that span. Miguel Lindo is one of the few key returners for Grant and will man the outside hitter spot, while North Hollywood will rely on junior Aaron Whitmore.
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