It’s Notebook time! Settle in for our Friday weekly look at girls volleyball throughout the state of California.
Cali teams set to tango at Durango
It’s finally here! The 64-team Durango Fall Classic convenes in Las Vegas starting Friday afternoon. Annually, “Durango” assembles the finest field of any high school tournament in the country and this year is no different.
At least nine teams in the field are ranked among the top 20 nationally on various lists. They include six from California, headed by current national No. 1 Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach. The other top 25 national teams include Mater Dei, defending national champion Cathedral Catholic, undefeated Archbishop Mitty, senior-laden Huntington Beach, and powerful Sierra Canyon.
All told, 33 teams – one more than half the field – call the Golden State their home. Many of those teams are having very strong seasons. In addition to the six mentioned above, another eight California squads are ranked among the state’s most recent top 25. They include Torrey Pines, Redondo Union, Marymount, Saint Francis of Mountain View, reigning state Div. I champion Branson, Alemany, which recently knocked off Marymount; Long Beach Wilson and Long Beach Poly, which this week entered the rankings after upending Wilson.
A tournament consisting only of those 14 teams and no other would be compelling, but Durango offers so much more! Two elite Texas teams, Cornerstone Christian and Prestonwood Christian, are making the trip. Kentucky’s No. 1, perennial national power Assumption of Louisville, also is there, as are many of the best teams from Utah, Hawaii, Arizona, and the home state, Nevada.
Indeed, outside of the 14 California teams mentioned, several others from the state have a chance to make a statement. Liberty of Bakersfield, Bakersfield Christian, Saint Ignatius, Francis Parker, and University School of San Francisco are all ranked in their region. The field also includes teams like defending state Div. II champion Chaminade, which has been ranked regionally in previous editions of The List; as have South Pasadena, Lakewood, and La Canada. The field also includes always-competitive Vista Murrieta, one of my sleepers; Village Christian, Harvard-Westlake, Torrance, and Campolindo. That makes 28 California teams worthy of watching! It’s going to be exhausting but so much fun!
National championship aspirations?
In the past two seasons, not only has the No. 1 overall seed won Durango, but the DFC champion has turned in an undefeated season that resulted in both Marymount (2021) and Cathedral Catholic (2022) winning state and consensus national championships.
That precise scenario cannot be repeated this year, because the top six seeds, headed by 17-1 Mira Costa; have all lost at least once. But there are undefeated teams in the field that could run the table here at Durango and then back home in their respective states. Those teams include Archbishop Mitty, the seventh overall seed.
Mitty, coached by former Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace, is 14-0 to start 2023, with wins over the likes of Saint Francis of Mountain View, the CIF State Open Division runner-up in 2022; Branson, the CIF State defending Division I Champion; and NorCal powers San Ramon Valley, Valley Christian, Saint Ignatius, and Sacred Heart Prep. The team is led by Maya Baker, one of the top junior setters in the nation (averaging 11 assists per game); OH Makenna Crosson, one of the nation’s top sophomore attackers; and senior OH Katelyn Cook. Both Crosson and Cook average more than four kills per set.
Upset specials
Looking at the Durango pools, which of the 16 1-seeds are vulnerable to being upset and why?
The first is Mitty, which is in a pool with Long Beach Wilson, Louisville Mercy Academy, and Brooklyn Poly Prep. Wilson is a talented, state-ranked team that just got its Mater Dei transfer, 6-3 OH Babi Gubbins, a Stanford beach volleyball commit, eligible after a mandatory sit-out period. The Bruins are 13-3 and tested and could give Mitty trouble, as could Mercy, which is young this year after graduating virtually everyone but is used to winning at a high level as one of Kentucky’s “Big Four” powers year in and year out. Poly Prep is a huge unknown after graduating its best player (now at the University of Miami), but the Blue Devils have a high-level head coach in Ben Diaz, a former top club coach at SG Elite in Southern California.
In Pool 11, Saint Francis is the top seed and currently sits 10-1. The Lancers only two losses, over the past two years, have come at the hands of Cathedral Catholic in the Open Division championship match last November; and to Mitty in four sets at the end of August. Saint Francis is very talented, especially on the outside and in the back row, but have a young, but white hot Long Beach Poly in their pool. The Jackrabbits have won 11 matches in a row and are just young and athletic enough to pull off an upset.
In Pool 12, top-seeded Redondo Union looks vulnerable after losing on Tuesday to Palos Verdes in five. The Sea Hawks are a good, deep team but lack superstars and could fall victim to Kamehameha Hawaii, which is 9-1 and owns a win over Otay Ranch, a state-ranked California team.
Xavier College Prep, topping pool 14, will surely be tested in its pool by all three opponents. The biggest threat is athletic Bishop Gorman, which is almost certainly the best team in Nevada; but Harvard-Westlake and surging Bakersfield Christian also could pose problems.
In Pool 15, Branson is 9-3 with some good wins on its schedule, but the Bulls have not been able to defeat elite teams like Mitty, Saint Francis, and Foothill of Pleasanton. Another such test awaits in 14-1 Corner Canyon of Utah, which boasts 6-2 OH Elina Mortensen, a BYU recruit.
Finally, in Pool 16, Kamehameha of Honolulu comes to Durango 13-1 on the year, which includes a recent win over defending Div. I champion Iolani; but the Warriors will have to contend with 15-2 Alemany, which recently outlasted Marymount in five, a stunning result since Alemany was thought to be down somewhat after superstar hitter London Wijay graduated early to attend USC, where she is averaging 2.5 kills and 1.6 digs per set.
Who can win?
Obviously, Mira Costa, which suffered its only loss AND defeated both Cornerstone Christian (23-1) and Sierra Canyon (17-3) at the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii in early August playing without All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer. Fuerbringer was setting the US Women’s U19 National Team to Gold in the World Championships.
Cornerstone, which won the Nike ToC Southeast and has superstar pins Megan Fitch and Grace Carroll; also could win, as could Mater Dei, with its standout setter Julia Kakkis and strong outsides. Cathedral Catholic, with talented setter Amanda Saeger, bulldog libero Maya Evens and unstoppable middle Jenna Hanes; and Prestonwood, which has taken some curious losses, but has a roster described as the best in the history of talent-rich Dallas; also should be considered among the favorites
Indeed, any of the top 11 teams, eight of which call California home, could put together a run to the title. Assumption recently won the LIVT and, more recently, avenged its only loss of the year. Huntington Beach is 11-1 over the past month, losing only to Cathedral Catholic. Torrey Pines, the 10th seed, is a bit of an unknown after graduating so many impact players last year. But the Falcons (4-2) boast talented outsides Finn Krystkowiak and Layla Williams and have an exceptional freshman setter, Emery Gonzales, directing the offense.
That brings us to Sierra Canyon, the 10th overall seed. The Trailblazers took down Alemany on Tuesday and haven’t lost on the Mainland after suffering defeats to Costa, Cornerstone, and Huntington Beach at the Ann Kang. Stefanie Wigfall’s team also is finally at full strength, with OH Danica Rach recovered from shoulder surgery and transfer pins Taylor Treahy and Halie McGinest now eligible. Put those three together with libero Lauren Lynch, setter Sade Ilawole, middle Madeline Way, and freshman OH Hanna McGinest, Sierra Canyon’s roster can match up physically with anyone. This could be the sleeper team of the tournament if the players can mesh quickly.
Land of the Giants
Redwood, of Larkspur, made a push to get back into the statewide top 25 by winning the inaugural Bishop O’Dowd Invitational on Saturday. The Giants defeated Amador Valley in the semifinals and Mercy of Burlingame in the championship match.
The way the Giants won is particularly notable.
On the day of the event, the team’s top hitter, Jaden Hendrickson, woke up with a 102 fever and did not travel with the team. She showed up just before Redwood’s last pool play match, saying her fever had broken, and talked her way onto the court. Hendrickson had 38 kills over the next three matches, hitting .400.
Primary libero Ella Moran, described by coach Loren Anderson as the “glue of the team,” suffered a nasty ankle sprain in Game 2 of the semifinal versus Amador Valley. She subbed out, “walked it off” and was back on the court for Game 3 and ended up being a pivotal part of the three-set win, as well as the finals sweep over Mercy.
All pleasant at Foothill
Foothill of Pleasanton, ranked 13th in the state, is on a 14-match winning streak after sneaking past Amador Valley in a five-set thriller on Tuesday. OH Paige Bennett had 29 kills, 14 digs, and 22 perfect passes to aid the win. Setter Katie Salonga contributed 61 assists and 10 digs and libero Kait Vogel had 20 digs and 15 passes directly to target.
That win came just three days after the Falcons got by Monte Vista to win the Bay Area Classic this past Saturday in Redwood City. Salonga, Bennett, and Vogel were their usual impactful selves, with help from OH Kaycie Burdick, who had 28 kills for the tournament, while hitting .410, and added 19 digs.
In action last night from the state top 25…
Nearly half of the state’s top 25 teams were in action on Thursday and all came away with wins. Mater Dei overcame 17 kills and eight digs from freshman Westley Matavao to upend surging Orange Lutheran. Otay Ranch got 12 kills from prolific hitter Ximena Cordero in knocking off Coronado. The most significant result was No. 25 Santa Margarita Catholic’s sweep of Rosary behind 12 kills from Regan Shields. The Eagles (14-7) snapped a six-match losing streak with the win.
Other winners included Archbishop Mitty, Beckman, St. Mary’s of Stockton, Los Alamitos, Foothill of Pleasanton, Palos Verdes, Redondo Union, JSerra, and Long Beach Poly.
News and notes…
James Logan shook off a pool play loss to Mercy of Burlingame (15-13 in the third) to finish 4-1 at the Bishop O’Dowd Invitational. The Colts, now 20-2 on the year, won the Gold Bracket behind sophomore OH McKenzie Anderson, libero Julianna Bondoc, and MB Hannah Issenmann…
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Manaia Ogbechie, the Oaks Christian middle pledged to Northwestern, had 21 kills (hitting .510) and six blocks over two wins last week.
“She’s as terminal of a blocker as she is an attacker,” said coach Julie Bennett. “I’ve never seen so many hit out around her in one of our matches this week. It’s pretty fun to see the looks on our opponent’s faces when they see her in hitting warmups.”
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Remember Mammoth HS, the team that lost use of its gym when a construction crew hit two main power lines that knocked out electricity to the entire school? Well, power has been restored to the main building but not the gym, which is now being powered for volleyball by a generator.
The Huskies (19-4) went on the road on the weekend to play in the Cal City Tournament and went 6-1 overall, defeating last year’s champion, Santa Clarita, while losing, 15-13 in the third, to Burroughs of Ridgecrest, which reached the championship match before falling to Tehachapi.
Stat leaders for the tournament for third-place Mammoth included Mila Knight, Jennifer Cecena, and Skye Peterson, who teamed for 83 kills; setter Madeline Le Francois, who had 122 assists and 38 digs; and Maggie Villa, a DS, who finished with 10 aces and was instrumental in the Huskies’ rallying to force a third game versus Burroughs, with 14 consecutive service points.
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Kayla Taylor continues to shine for Sunny Hills. One of the state’s leading attackers, Taylor had 34 kills over eight sets in two wins last week and showed off her six-rotation ability with 19 digs and five aces. This, coming on the heels of an MVP performance, in the Division 2 tournament at Dave Mohs one week earlier.
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Young Newport Harbor had its biggest win of 2023 last Friday, a 3-2 win over Edison of Huntington Beach to open league play. Freshman Ella Olson led the way with 26 kills and nine digs. Freshman Vladimira Kotzakov added 18 kills and 10 digs and senior setter Drue Coberly contributed 55 assists and 13 digs for the Sailors, who are hovering around the .500 mark.
Olson, at almost 280 kills through 20 matches, is averaging almost five kills per set, an impressive showing for a freshman.
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Pitman senior setter Payton Rowell leads California in assists with 704 for the Pride, who are 24-2 and ranked seventh in the North Region.
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Redwood of Visalia is 15-4 heading into its own invitational this weekend. The Rangers, who got a big match from Audrey Hyde in its Tuesday sweep of El Diamante, hope to see 2022 state Div. IV runner-up Central Valley Christian in the championship match.
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Halie McGinest, Hanna McGinest, and Danica Rauch combined for 38 kills on Wednesday in Sierra Canyon’s four-set win over Alemany in a clash of the top 15 teams statewide.
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Menlo-Atherton snapped Burlingame’s nine-match winning streak last night with a four-set win. The Bears, led by junior OH Daniela Eline, have now won seven in a row of their own.
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Jizelle Castellanos recorded ace No. 100 on the season on Sept. 14 in a five-set win for Indian Springs over Pacific. The Coyotes have now won 10 matches after prevailing just three times in 2022. Castellanos finished with 12 aces in that match along with 12 kills and 13 digs to record the first triple-double in school history. And it happened on her birthday! Happy birthday!
College-Bound!
In this space, we list those players, playing California high school volleyball in the current senior class and younger, who have made a commitment to attend a college or university of their choice and play volleyball. To date, we have 102 such players. Congrats! That’s a big number, but surely there are more! Please email jtawa@cifstate.org to add players to the list, using the format you see below, or to make any corrections.
Tea Abischer, 5-10 Sr. MB, San Luis Obispo – UC Davis (Beach)
Maya Baker, 5-9 Jr. S, Archbishop Mitty – Notre Dame
Jessie Bates, 5-11 Sr. S/RS, JSerra – UC Irvine
Addy Benefield, 6-0 Sr. OH, Redondo Union -- Boise State
Paige Bennett, 6-0 Sr. OH, Foothill (Pleasanton) -- Winthrop
Kendall Beshear, 5-11 Sr. OH, Palos Verdes – Cal Poly SLO
Fallyn Blotzer, 6-1 Jr. OH, Santiago (Corona) – Cincinnati
Camden Bolane, 6-2 Sr. MB/OH, Pacific Ridge – Yale
Laela Burgess, 5-7 Jr. S, San Luis Obispo - UC Davis
Katrina Catalan, 5-8 Sr. S, Vista Murrieta -- UCSB
Malyssa Cawa, 5-6 Sr. libero, Mater Dei -- Stanford
Isabel Clark, 6-0 Sr. OH, Mater Dei -- USD
Madison Clark, 6-0 Sr. MB, Redondo Union – UC Riverside
Madi Collins, 5-9 Sr. S, Redondo Union -- Long Beach State
Addison Collum, 5-11 Sr. OH, Kennedy (La Palma) – Arkansas State
Katelyn Cook, 5-10 Sr. OH, Archbishop Mitty -- Fairfield
Ximena Cordero, 5-10 Sr. OH, Otay Ranch – UC Davis
Dakota Conway, 5-8 Sr. DS, Cathedral Catholic -- FIU
Amiah Cornejo, 5-10 Sr. OH, University Prep (Redding) – Concordia-Irvine
Erin Curtis, 6-0 Sr. OH, Saint Francis (Mountain View) – North Carolina
Taylor Deckert, 5-9 Sr. libero, Mira Costa -- USC
Gabby Destler, 6-1 Sr. OH, Marymount – Loyola Marymount
Kate Duffey, 6-0 Sr. S, Ventura – UCLA
Niki Egan, 5-8 Sr. DS, Cathedral Catholic – Washington (Beach)
Jade Epps, 6-0 Sr. OH, Lakewood – San Jose State
Kate Fagundes, 5-5 Sr. libero, Oak Ridge – Vanguard University
Kyla Firestone, 5-8 Sr. S, Alemany -- Loyola Marymount University
Elena Fisher, 5-11 Jr. OH, Branson – Stanford (Beach)
Helena Foord, 5-10 Sr. OH, South Pasadena -- NYU
Reese Fraser, 5-10 Sr. S, Archie Williams – UC Davis (Beach)
Meghan Freck, 5-7 Sr. S/DS, Huntington Beach – UC Davis (Beach)
Charlie Fuerbringer, 5-11 Sr. S, Mira Costa – Wisconsin
Giselle Gallegos, 5-10 Sr. OH, Redondo Union -- Tulane (Beach)
Jenna Garner, 6-0 Sr. OH, South Pasadena -- Penn
Cymarah Gordon, 6-1 Sr. RS, Mater Dei -- Michigan
Gwen Grigsby, 5-3 Sr. libero, Harbor – Cal State Bakersfield (Beach)
Jenna Hanes, 6-3 Sr. MB, Cathedral Catholic -- Michigan
Brooke Hansen, 6-0 Sr. S/RS, Etiwanda – Cal Poly SLO
Cleo Hardin, 6-3 Sr. RS, Menlo – Yale
Victoria Henkel, 6-0 Sr. OH, Redondo Union – LSU (Beach)
Kaia Herweg, 5-8 Sr. S/OH, Los Alamitos – Grand Canyon
Abby Hoybjerg, 6-2 Sr. MB, Oak Ridge – BYU
Mikayla Hsieh, 510 Sr. S/RS, Flintridge Sacred Heart – Pomona-Pitzer
Keely Hummel, 5-10 Sr. S, St. Mary’s (Stockton) – Fresno State
Audrey Hyde, 5-10 Sr. RS/S, Redwood (Visalia) – Westmont College
Chloe Hynes, 6-1 Sr. RS, Mira Costa -- NYU
Kayla Johnson, 5-11 Sr. OH, Pleasant Valley – Utah (Beach)
Madison Johnson, 6-3 Jr. OH, Chaparral -- UCSD
Tatum Johnson, 6-0 Sr. MB, JSerra -- Colorado
Sadie Jeffrey, 6-0 Sr. OH, Santa Cruz – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Julia Kakkis, 6-0 Sr. S/RS, Mater Dei -- Brown
Charlotte Kelly, 6-3 Jr. MB, Amador Valley – Cal Poly SLO
Brooklyn Kostoff, 5-7 Sr. S, Santa Margarita Catholic – Azusa Pacific
Amiya Kuchibhotia, 6-1 Sr. MB, Archbishop Mitty -- NYU
Mallory Labreche, 5-11 Jr. RS. Palos Verdes – UCLA (Beach)
Molly Labreche, 5-7 Jr. libero, Palos Verdes – LSU (Beach)
Hayley LaFontaine, 6-0 Sr. OH, Huntington Beach – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Quinn Loper, 6-1 Jr. OH, San Clemente -- USC
Lauren Lynch, 5-6 Jr. libero, Sierra Canyon – San Diego
Isabella Marrero, 5-6 Sr. libero, Campbell Hall - American University
Kate Martin, 5-10 Sr. OH, Marymount -- UCSB
Trixie McMillin, 5-6 Sr. libero, Mira Costa – Cal
Grace Mcqoid, 6-0 Sr. OH, Foothill (Palo Cedro) – Vanguard University
Mila Mijailovic, 5-10 Sr. OH/DS, Campbell Hall – Yale
Mackenzie Miller, 5-11 Sr. OH, Redondo Union -- USC (Beach)
Elon Milroy, 6-0 Sr. MB, Los Alamitos – San Jose State (Beach)
Ayva Moi, 5-11 Jr. RS, Cathedral Catholic – Hawaii (Beach)
Althea Morris, 5-9 Jr. S, Campbell Hall – St. Edward’s University
Sadie Moore, 5-11 Sr. RS, Pleasant Valley – Arizona (Beach)
Noa Nuez, 5-8 Sr. libero, Los Alamitos – Georgia State (Beach)
Manaia Ogbechie, 6-3 Jr. MB Oaks Christian -- Northwestern
Ayva Ostovar, 5-6 Jr.. S, Mater Dei -- UCSB
Kennedy Osunsanmi, 6-2 Sr. RS, West Ranch – UCLA
Malia Parsons, 5-9 Sr. libero/OH, Tamalpais – St. Olaf College
McKenzie Parsons, 6-2 Sr. MB, Poway -- Cornell
Nicole Patton, 6-0 Sr. OH, Pacific Ridge - Marist College
Summer Pederson, 5-7 Sr. libero, Santa Cruz – Concordia- Irvine
Taylor Ponchak, 6-2 Jr. RS, Huntington Beach – Stanford (Beach)
Faith Rabb-Patterson, 6-2 Sr. MB, Christian Brothers – UC Davis
Danica Rach, 6-2 Sr. OH, Sierra Canyon -- Boston College
Mauriana Rayford, 5-9 Sr. OH, Chaparral – Lamar University
Stacy Reeves, 5-8 Sr. libero, Beckman – Pepperdine (Beach)
Charlotte Reff, 5-11 Sr. S, Buckley School – NYU
Kiki Remensperger, 5-9 Sr. S, Poway – South Carolina (Beach)
Amanda Saeger, 5-11 Sr. S, Cathedral Catholic – DePaul
Tmukisa Sagiao, 5-9 Sr. RS, Helix Charter – Cal State San Bernardino
Katie Salonga, 5-7 Sr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – Colorado
Bryn Shankle, 6-4 Sr. MB, Mira Costa -- TCU
Reagan Shields, 5-10 Sr. OH, Santa Margarita Catholic – Oregon State
Sadie Snipes, 6-0 Sr. OH, Branson – Santa Clara (Beach)
Dani Sparks, 5-7 Sr. S, Huntington Beach – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Birdie Stone, 5-11 Sr. OH, San Juan Hills -- Montana
Cayla Sutton, 5-10 Jr. RS, Clovis North -- Stetson University (Beach)
Zaria Thornton, 6-0 Sr. MB, Lakewood – Oregon State
Anaya Thrower, 6-4 Sr. OH, Vanden -- Oregon
Taylor Treahy, 6-1 Sr. RS, Sierra Canyon -- George Washington
Madison Triplett, 5-9 Sr. OH, El Capitan (Lakeside) -- UCSB
Victoria Turner, 5-7 Sr. S, Beckman -- UCSD
Logan Tusher, 5-11 Sr. S, Branson - Stanford (Beach)
Eliana Urzua, 6-3 Jr. OH, Bishop Diego -- UCLA
Miliani Villareal, 5-9 Sr. libero, Vista Murrieta – Sacred Heart University
Madeline Way, 6-2 Sr. MB, Sierra Canyon -- Hawaii
Elle Weaver, 5-10 Sr. OH, Oak Ridge -- Brown
Sofia Williams, 5-9 Sr. OH, San Clemente -- Yale
Taylor Williams, 6-2 Sr. OH, Saint Francis (Mountain View) -- Duke
Sophia Winter, 5-10 Sr. RS, Pleasant Valley – Arizona (Beach)
Taylor Yu, 6-0 Sr. S, Temple City -- Stanford
Ava Zamora, 5-10 Jr. S/RS, Westview – Stony Brook
Ashby Zubchevich, 6-0 Jr. OH, La Canada – Duke
Be back next week with more news and notes on volleyball in the Golden State…