There’s obviously more to the fall high school sports playoffs than just tackle — or even, flag — football. Cross county, boys water polo, girls field hockey, girls tennis, girls golf and girls volleyball also headline the San Diego Section’s championship lineup. Two East County schools advanced to this year’s girls volleyball divisional finals. Second-seeded Steele Canyon (25-8) captured the Division III banner with a grueling 3-1 victory (25-11, 16-25, 25-23,25-20) over top-seeded Oceanside (28-2) Saturday at Mater Dei Catholic High School while third-seeded Helix Charter (31-7) recorded a runner-up finish in the Division II bracket following a 3-1 loss (19-25, 25-21, 29-31, 21-25) to top-seeded Sage Creek (38- 11) last Friday at Cal-State San Marcos. The CIF championship is the first in school history for the Lady Cougars. Steele Canyon’s statistical leaders included junior Taylor Carpenter with 21 kills and five aces, sophomore Roxy Carrillo with 25 digs and senior Madison Barefield with 10 digs and 16 assists. Helix leaders included junior Aliyah Bowser with 18 kills, 23 digs and four blocks. Freshman Jolene Swiggers tacked on 16 kills and 17 digs in a likewise individual power-packed showing. Helix finished as the Grossmont Hills League champions with a perfect 10-0 record while Steele Canyon was runner-up at 7-3.Both Helix and Steele Canyon qualified for the state playoffs. Helix hosted Palisades (34- 15) in Tuesday’s opening round while Steele Canyon opened at Venice (33-6).Eastern exposure A total of 15 East County teams qualified for this year’s playoff field. No. 12 Christian (11-18) represented the region in the Division I tier while No. 7 Granite Hills (26-14), No. 8 Foothills Christian (25-10), No. 11 Santana (15-12) and No. 15 El Capitan (15-15) joined Helix in Division II. Granite Hills advanced as far as the semifinals, dropping a 3-1 decision to Helix. Foothills Christian advanced as far as the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over ninth-seeded Bonita Vista (12-14) in the opening round. Division III entrants included No. 2 Steele Canyon, No. 7 Valhalla (15-12) and No. 11 Grossmont (8-23).Steele Canyon shut out Valhalla 3-0 in the quarterfinals. No. 2 West Hills (18-15) and No. 5 Mountain Empire (19-13) participated in the Division IV field, both advancing to the semifinals. West Hills ended its season with a 3-0 loss to third-seeded Ramona (22-18) while Mountain Empire was blanked, 3-0, by top-seeded (and eventual division champion) Tri-City Christian (16-9). The Division V tier included No. 4 Liberty Charter (13-13), No. 5 Monte Vista (12-25) and No. 6 Mount Miguel (10-14). Liberty Charter and Mount Miguel both advanced to the quarterfinals.