Bosco Falls in Norwalk CIF Final

St. John Bosco’s boys volleyball season ended Saturday, May 16, with a loss to Windward in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 final at Cerritos College in Norwalk. CIF-SS listed the championship match on its official schedule as a 3 p.m. start, one of three boys volleyball finals played at the site that day. The result left St. John Bosco still chasing its first section boys volleyball title, according to local reporting on the match. ### How far had St. John Bosco advanced before Saturday’s final? St. John Bosco reached the Division 3 championship match by beating Palos Verdes 3-2 in the semifinals on May 9, according to MaxPreps and local coverage. MaxPreps listed the Braves at 21-13 entering the Windward match and ranked them No. 2 in Southern Section Division III as of May 14. (cifss.org) The CIF-SS playoff bracket showed St. John Bosco and Windward on opposite semifinal paths in Division 3 before meeting in the final. CIF-SS also identified the May 14-May 16 window as the section finals period for boys volleyball. ### Where was the match played, and why was Norwalk involved? Cerritos College in Norwalk served as the neutral-site host for the Division 3 final, along with other CIF-SS boys volleyball championship matches that weekend. (maxpreps.com) CIF-SS published the venue as 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, California, and scheduled St. John Bosco against Windward for Saturday, May 16. (cifss.org) NFHS Network’s playoff listings also showed the Division 3 championship at Cerritos College in Norwalk and identified Windward and St. John Bosco as the participants in the 3 p.m. match. That listing matched the CIF-SS championship schedule. ### What do we know about the final itself? Press-Telegram reported that St. John Bosco pushed Windward in a four-set loss and played without star hitter Franklin Shiekh. (cifss.org) The same report said Bosco split the first two sets before Windward closed out the match and that the Braves were unable to secure the program’s first CIF-SS title. (nfhsnetwork.com) The available public sources reviewed here do not provide a full official box score from CIF-SS, and the CIF-SS bracket page visible in search results does not include the Division 3 final score line. Press-Telegram’s account is the clearest verified description available from local coverage of how the match unfolded. (presstelegram.com) ### Why did this final draw attention around St. John Bosco? St. John Bosco entered the title match after knocking off top-seeded Palos Verdes in the semifinals, a result that put the Braves within one win of a section championship. Press-Telegram reported before the final that Bosco had advanced through a tense five-set semifinal to earn the berth. (presstelegram.com) Saturday’s loss also stood out because Bosco was missing Franklin Shiekh, whom Press-Telegram described as the team’s top player. The report said the Braves still extended Windward deep into the match before falling short. ### What comes next for both teams after the section final? The California Interscholastic Federation said the 2026 boys volleyball state championship brackets were to be posted Sunday, May 17, with regional first-round matches scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, at host sites. (presstelegram.com) Regional semifinals are set for May 21, regional finals for May 23, and the state finals for May 30 at Fresno City College. (presstelegram.com) Those dates mean Windward and St. John Bosco could both move into the Southern California regional field, depending on the state selections released Sunday. CIF’s published postseason calendar lists May 19 as the next competition date in the state tournament. (cifstate.org)