Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon have been the two best high school girls’ volleyball teams in the Southland the last several years and the likelihood is high that they will meet in the Southern Section Division 1 finals for a third consecutive season.
Mater Dei won the state Open Division championship in November, led by four seniors now suiting up for NCAA Division I programs — setter Sam Capinpin at Cal State Bakersfield, libero Lizzy Robinson at Oregon and middle blocker Addison Coady and outside hitter Layli Ostovar (the 2025 Gatorade California player of the year) at USC.
The Monarchs won the Queen’s Court Invitational (the last preseason warmup tournament) in Irvine at the start of the month and boast one of their deepest rosters in coach Dan O’Dell’s 14 seasons thanks to five elite transfers: senior opposite hitter Katherine Nowak from JSerra; junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Sienna Cicero from Orange Lutheran; junior middle blocker Reagan Williams from Sunny Hills; junior outside hitter Janiah Burrage from Rancho Christian and senior middle hitter (and Long Beach State commit) Saaliyah Brown from Etiwanda, all of whom are eager to contribute once the mandatory sit-out period ends Sept. 13.
In a matchup of reigning state champions, Mater Dei prevailed in five sets over Harvard-Westlake in its Aug. 11 season opener, and it was no surprise that UCLA-bound senior hitter Westley Matavao made her presence felt with 16 kills, 19 digs and six aces. California commit Emma Kingston added 13 kills and three blocks as setting duties were shared by senior Kalea Lee (24 assists) and junior Riley Stringer (20 assists).
“It’s great to start out playing a team that’s just as competitive as us — it’s good prep for what we can expect all season,” said Matavao, who recorded 405 kills, 177 digs, 37 aces and 32 blocks a year ago. “This teaches us to not be laid back, to keep our foot on the gas. I think we’re better than last season because we have more versatility.”
Making an immediate influence was freshman Jimin Seung, who ended the first point of the season with a kill and finished with 10. On a team with 11 seniors, Seung is fitting right in with a fearless attitude and competitive drive.
“It was nerve-racking, but knowing our team is one, the nervousness turns to confidence,” Seung said. “I came to Mater Dei because it’s the place that felt most like home and I wanted to grow in my religion. I’ve only known Westley a few weeks and she’s already like a big sister to me. She’s a senior and I’m a freshman, but we have a lot in common because we play the same position.”
Though Mater Dei has superior depth, Sierra Canyon has a more experienced starting lineup — a nucleus of All-Americans consisting of Missouri-bound setter Lucky Fasavalu, Nebraska-bound middle Kendall Omoruyi and a trio of outside hitters in Eva Jeffries (Tennessee), Hanna McGinest (Texas Tech) and McKenna McIntosh (USC).
Filling the last rotation spot will be Isabella Torres-Wallace from ICL Academy; fellow sophomore middle Cassie Smith and junior Raneighla Gonzalez, who transferred from Heritage Christian last year but got hurt and played in only two sets. The top back row options for coach Stefanie Wigfall, who will likely pass the 400-win mark this season, are senior Olive Shum and Mira Costa transfer Blake Gurney.
Sierra Canyon, which beat Mater Dei to win its second section title in four years last fall, finished fifth at Queen’s Court without Fasavalu, Omoruyi and McGinest, who led the team a year ago with a combined 469 kills, 265 digs, 29 blocks and 28 aces. The Trailblazers beat Kahuku (Hawaii), Mira Costa, JSerra, San Juan Hills, Palos Verdes, Harvard-Westlake and Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio) to reach the finals of the Ann Kang Invitational in Honolulu. They then rallied past host Iolani, 18-25, 25-11, 15-9, in Saturday’s championship match to win the prestigious tournament for the first time.
Division I state champion Harvard-Westlake got 12 kills each from sophomore Brooke Cotter and Boston College-bound Ruby Sampson and 11 from Princeton commit Sophia Cotter against Mater Dei. Last year the Wolverines finished third in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon and Marymount, which has lost five Division I players to graduation — Sammy Destler (Washington), Elle Vandeweghe (Southern Methodist), Declan Eastman (Rice), Olivia Penske (Georgetown) and Frankie Jones (Brown) — but brings back Northwestern commit Makenna Barnes, setter/hitter Leighton Devereux and Katelyn Oerlemans, a middle/opposite hitter committed to Stanford for beach volleyball.
Challenging Mater Dei in the Trinity League will be Santa Margarita, which won the Southern Section Division 2 title last year behind player of the year Ireland Real, a Texas commit who pounded more than 400 kills and had 150 digs.
Mira Costa will be led by senior captains Brynn Barry (libero), Lerin Rosenthal (setter, opposite) and Allyn Hilt (outside hitter) but will have to overcome the loss of setter Milly McGee (USC) and hitters Audrey Flanagan (Wisconsin) and Simone Roslon. Bay League rival Redondo Union is in a similar circumstance, having to replace hitter Abby Zimmerman (Cal), twins Avery and Addi Junk (Florida State) and middle blocker Taylor Boice (UC Irvine). Cypress graduated CIF-SS Division 3 player of the year Isabella Faro.
Defending champion Palisades and Taft, which lost to the Dolphins in the Open Division semifinals last fall, are the preseason favorites in the City Section.
Matavao relished a chance to face her cousin Fasavalu (the CIF-SS Division 1 player of the year) in the finals again: “I think there’s a good chance we’ll see them again.”
Teams to watch: Mater Dei, Sierra Canyon, Marymount, Harvard-Westlake, JSerra, Santa Margarita, San Juan Hills, Mira Costa, Redondo Union, Newport Harbor, Los Alamitos, Long Beach Poly, Temecula Valley, Crean Lutheran, West Ranch.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.