Open Division - Marymount def. Archbishop Mitty 3-0 (25-11, 25-5, 25-14)

Marymount showed definitively why it is the best in the state, the best in the nation and deserves to be considered among the best teams in the history of high school volleyball. Playing with near-flawless precision Saturday night in the Open Division at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, the Sailors made short work of Archbishop Mitty, the most storied program in California history, 25-11, 25-5, 25-14, overwhelming the Monarchs for their eight title all time and first since winning Division I in 2012.

Before we talk about what Marymount (35-0) did right in the championship final, let’s review what the Sailors did wrong:

Nothing. They did nothing wrong.

After one set, they were hitting .370 with 12 kills against two errors, with perfect passing and defense from libero Megan Verbeist, perfect setting from Kelly Belardi and relentless offense from, well, everyone! Marymount was even better after two, upping their hitting percentage to an unheard of .500 with nine aces. It was mesmerizing to watch.

Archbishop Mitty, the Central Coast Section Open champions, making their first finals appearance since winning Open in 2017, showed some spirit in the third. Kendra MacDonald had a rasher of kills and libero Klaudia Barbarossa distinguished herself in the back row, but the Monarchs could only stay within touch for half the set. Torey Stafford took over midway through to help Marymount build an insurmountable lead and Elia Rubin, the leading candidate for state Player of the Year, finished off her distinguished four year-career with the final kill.   

Marymount head coach Cari Klein had nothing but praise for her team after  the match.

“They played the hardest schedule in the nation,” she said. “They traveled out of state three times. They put their lives on hold to get to this point. And they finished undefeated.”

Rubin led the Sailor charge with 10 kills. Stafford and Kerry Keefe, who played incredible ball; had nine apiece. The three pins took 58 swings, had 28 kills and just six errors collectively. Belardi spread the ball around expertly, amassing 28 digs. Verbeist led the back row with 14 digs, many of the astounding variety, as well as 12 service receptions without an error. It was, quite simply, a virtuoso performance by everyone who stepped on the floor.

Mitty, which finished 36-8, got 14 kills combined from the trio of MacDonald, Audrey Liddle and Reagan Dryden. Barbarrosa had eight digs and 13 receptions to lead the back row.

Division I - Harvard Westlake def. Hillsdale 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18)

Statewide No. 8 Harvard-Westlake defeated No. 15 Hillsdale in four sets to claim the Division I state title Friday night at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

The difference in the match was offensive balance and diversity. Whereas Hillsdale had two dynamic left side attackers in Jessica Dean and Victoria Vanos, who accounted for virtually all of the offense for the Fighting Knights; Harvard-Westlake attacked with five options from all over the court. When it wasn’t Kennedy Hill hanging and banging from the middle, it was ultra-athletic Grace Thrower using her size and speed to overwhelm from the right; or Ava-Marie Lange hitting high from the left or Avery Jones going fast from the middle and left; or Sophia Lindus scoring with power and finesse.

Harvard-Westlake, playing in its first state title match since winning Division III in 2007, hit a collective .407 through two sets, with the quintet having at least five kills apiece, thanks to perfect distribution from junior setter Neha Tummala.

Hillsdale, making its first finals appearance in school history, got back into the match with big blocking from Stefanie Elgaard and Sophia Makarewycz, a more diverse attack, with Caitlin Musich coming on to set three rotations so that regular setter Rianna Liu also could hit; and bombing serves from Vanos.  The gritty Fighting Knights threatened to send the match to a fifth set and were tied 16-16 after a big Elgaard block, but Harvard-Westlake (27-9) responded with a 4-0 run that featured an ace from Jones and a massive swing from Hill and never looked back. Kelsey Kim’s net ace completed the win.

“We trusted and supported each other during the tough moments,” Wolverine head coach Natalie Morgan said about the mid-match struggles. “The work these girls have put in came out in those moments, with these girls persevering to change, to better themselves in that moment.

Four Harvard-Westlake attackers reached double-figure kill totals, led by Hill’s 15. Tummala finished with 43 assists.

Dean and Vanos led Hillsdale (27-3) with 15 kills apiece. The Fighting Knights had their best season in school history this fall and lost only to teams ranked among the top 15 in the state.

Division II - Redwood def. Carlsbad 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20)

Redwood of Larkspur overcame a Game 1 drubbing to defeat Carlsbad, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20, to capture its first state title, in Division II, on Saturday afternoon at Santiago Canyon College in Corona. The Giants had a significant advantage in the first two contacts, as libero Sophia Shaw and setter Kaley Mathews were both sensational; and Carlsbad struggled to find offense from anyone besides OH Rylie Schulz.

Schulz dominated early and Auburn Tomkinson took over late as Carlsbad, seeking its first championship, went wire-to-wire to win Game 1 by nine. Schulz, a Wyoming signee had four kills, a block and an ace as the Lancers opened up a 13-9 advantage. Tomkinson, a junior committed to Texas, had two kills and a block over a three-point stretch that extended Carlsbad’s lead to 17-10. She tacked on a late kill for the San Diego Section Division I champions, helping the Lancers overcome four serving errors.

Redwood turned the tables starting early in Game 2 and never let up. Mathews set pin to pin with equal effectiveness and Emma McDermott and Jaden Hendrickson filled up the stat sheet with kill after kill. Shaw maintained her brilliance to the end for the Giants, who also benefited from too many unforced errors from Carlsbad over the final three sets.

“We had nothing to lose,” said Redwood coach Ursula Gruenert. “We wanted to put everything we’d been working hard on into the match. “  

Mathews finished with 35 assists and four aces and Shaw had 21 digs for Redwood (30-6). McDermott and Hendrickson combined for 26 kills.

Schulz was a rock star for Carlsbad (23-12). The 6-0 senior contributed 23 kills, showing off power and her arsenal of off speed shots. But the Lancers lacked an effective second option in this match, which ultimately hurt their cause.

Division III- Chino Hills def. Carondelet 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 26-24)

Chino Hills rallied from down 24-20 in the third set to sweep Carondelet, 25-15, 25-22, 26-24, for the CIF Division III state championship Saturday afternoon at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. The difference in the match overall may have been the hitting of outsides Malena The’ and Tehya Chadwick, but what catalyzed the comeback was the blocking of senior middle Taryn Saunders. Saunders had a solo block and two assists, one each with freshman setter Cierra Grant and Chadwick; in the closing 6-0 run.

“We were resilient today,” said Chino Hills head coach Joe Schnake. “We were able to fight through it.”

Chino Hills overcame a terrific first set from Carondelet middle Corrinsea Tagaloa to dominate the first. The Huskies hit .207 in the set, getting eight kills combined from The’ and Chadwick, and held Carondelet to negative hitting in the wire-to-wire win.

The second set was much closer start to finish. Shelby Santos had a kill and ace to counter two Grant aces as the set went to the late stages. Two kills, a block and a lunging dig in the end game from The’ were just enough to send the Huskies (23-14) to the third set with a 2-0 lead.

Carondelet (26-13) got a spark in the third set from freshman middle Bella Ehrlich, who was cleared today after being sidelined with a shoulder ailment. The Cougars’ block leader helped slow Chino Hills’ attack and DS Alexis Dwinell had success on serve, helping Carondelet build that lead to 24-20, before being dashed by the Huskies’ finishing kick.

Chadwick and The’ had 30 kills combined for Chino Hills, more than 70 percent of the Huskies’ offense. Saunders finished with six blocks and Paige Gutowski, the team’s libero, contributed 13 digs and eight assists.

RS Avery Ehrlich had nine kills to lead Carondelet, which started 1-5 before becoming the first Cougar team to play for a state title. DS Naomi Sivod led the defense with 17 digs.

Division IV- University Prep def. Exter 3-2 (19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 15-11)

University Prep won its first state volleyball title Saturday morning, outlasting Exeter in Division IV over five intense sets, 19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 15-11. The Panthers won thanks to sensational defense, anchored by libero Reese Ampi; big time hitting from Ashlee Kraft and Elle Weaver and seven critical ace serves over the final two sets.

Exeter (28-11) took a two sets to one lead into the fourth set, as setter Avery Barber spread the offense out with terrific judgment and the Monarch defense, led by libero Madisson Woods and OH Hannah Baker, gave U-Prep very little hitting room to score.

The fourth set was hanging in the balance until U-Prep setter Morgan Wilding stepped behind the service line with the Panthers (41-5) clinging to a 15-14 lead. U-Prep, the state leader in aces, had been out-aced to that point, but rapidly closed the gap, as the junior fired off four in a row as part of a 9-1 run that propelled the Panthers into a fifth set.

In the fifth, Kraft delivered two more aces at a critical juncture that essentially put the match away. Kraft finished off the comeback, aided by two jaw-dropping Ampi digs, with a rocket to the back wall, in a match filled with excitement from start to finish.

Kraft finished with 27 kills and 22 digs for U-Prep, which also won the Northern Section Division IV title. Ampi contributed 21 digs, Weaver had 16 kills  and Kaitlyn Cabral chipped in with 15 kills and 18 digs.

Baker had 16 kills and 21 kills for Exeter, which was vying to be the first school from Tulare County to win state. Haven Rich added 13 kills, 17 digs and five aces. Woods was credited with 16 digs of her own.

Division V - Santa Clarita Christian def. Skyline 3-1 (28-26, 25-15, 18-25, 28-26)

Santa Clarita Christian of Canyon Country completed an unbeaten season by outlasting Skyline of Oakland, 28-26, 25-15, 18-25, 28-26, on Friday afternoon in a drama-filled Division V championship match that could as easily have gone the other way. 

The Cardinals (37-0) fought off four Game 4 set points, any one of which would have sent the contest to a fifth and deciding set, to capture their first-ever volleyball state title and the first girls state title for the school in any sport..

Skyline, the first Oakland public school to represent the Oakland Section in a state championship match, overcame the loss of freshman setter Yan Wong to a sprained ankle in the third set to push the Cardinals to a fourth set and almost a fifth, but the Titans could not hold a 24-21 lead, Santa Clarita Christian setter Kaysa Brown started the Cardinal rally with a terrific dump. The Southern Section Division 8 champs tied the set two points later on Bethany Wilson’s ace serve and eventually won, in extra points, when Skyline was called for being out of rotation on Santa Clarita Christian’s second match point of the afternoon.

“I’m proud of them for not giving up at the end,” SCCS head coach Darcy Brown said. “Being down a couple of points and rallying to win in extra points was just huge and showed their grit and determination.”

Six-rotation outsides hitters Nevaeh Phillips and Hannah Shaffer combined for 37 kills and 46 digs for the victorious Cardinals. Phillips was particularly adept at using Skyline’s imposing block, while Shaffer scored often deep middle and down the line with pace. Libero  Chaney Brooks chipped in with 35 digs, while setter Kaysa Brown’s 10 huge kills were part of a triple-double effort that included 44 assists and 11 digs.

Physical middle Fane Paua led Skyline (21-4) with 18 kills and three blocks. The Titans, who had never won a state tournament match before this year, also got 12 kills and 30 digs from Victoria Alvarez and 33 digs from libero Charlotte Albert.