With Cathedral Catholic finishing off its undefeated season and winning vballrecruiter.com’s mythical national championship in the process, the San Diego school was the overwhelming highlight this past weekend at the California state championships at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. While Cathedral Catholic captured the Open Division title, five more were awarded as well between Divisions 1-5. Here are those results:
- D1: Branson d Palos Verdes 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13
- D2: Chaminade d Clovis North 25-19, 13-25, 25-19, 25-22
- D3: Archie Williams d Buckley 16-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23
- D4: Ripon Christian d Central Valley Christian 25-19, 27-25, 25-17
- D5: Berean Christian d Victory Christian 25-18, 14-25, 15-25, 25-21, 17-15
Below, we highlight the Show Stoppers from the weekend.
SHOW STOPPERS
Noemie Glover SR RS Cathedral Catholic – The high-flying, hard-hitting antics delivered by Glover in the Open Division is the pure definition of being a show stopper. She drilled 13 kills on 20 swing and hit .550 and provided a huge spark with her authoritative hitting.
Jenna Hanes JR MB Cathedral Catholic – Hanes recorded a team-high 14 kills on 27 swings, hitting .370. She also had three of the team’s nine blocks. With Hanes on like she was, it forced the St. Francis blockers to stay home and not cheat toward the pin.
Milan Bayless SR OH Cathedral Catholic – Cathedral Catholic coach Juliana Conn called Bayless the most improved player on the team. With star outside Julia Blyashov sidelined with an ankle injury, Bayless took fearless swings as she more than filled her role. She wound up with nine kills on 22 swings, hitting .318.
Amanda Saeger JR S Cathedral Catholic – For Cathedral Catholic to get 60 swings from its middles and right side shows how well the offense was clicking, starting with the first ball. Saeger took it from there, spreading the ball around and putting her hitters in favorable spots. She did a fine job running the offense, posting 36 assists.
Maya Evens SO L Cathedral Catholic – The defensive play was high in the Open Division final, with Evens doing her thing for the Dons. She was the only teammate in double-digit digs with 16 as she passed and defended marvelously.
Havannah Hoeft SR S St. Francis – Hoeft has a smooth release and seldom misses her mark. She had the St. Francis offense going but the Dons’ defense was up for the challenge. Hoeft put up 30 assists and 13 digs.
Whitney Wallace JR L St. Francis – Lancers coach Lake Merchen called Wallace “a force” for her effort against Cathedral. She tied Evens with a match-high 16 digs. She often kept rallies going and did a good job covering at the net.
Keira Brady JR OH Chaminade – There’s no doubt the Eagles were riding the arm of Brady, who powered down 21 of the team’s 47 kills. Brady took 54 swings and also had four aces. Whenever Chaminade needed a point to stay close or keep a slim lead, it was Brady coming through.
Kristin Alvandian SR L Chaminade – It was difficult to get a ball down on Alvandian. She gave Chaminade the defensive edge it needed, racking up a match-high 17 digs while also passing consistently well out of serve receive.
Kyra Miller SR S Clovis North – Miller – who had 39 assists – did a great job of distributing the ball evenly. Five hitters took between 19-28 swings each, so the balance was excellent. Miller was especially efficient connecting with the middles and right side.
Cayla Sutton SO RS Clovis North – Sutton was unstoppable. She damaged Chaminade to the tune of eight kills on 19 swings while hitting .368. The lefty definitely provided a key piece of offense.
Kennedy Lingenfelter SO MB Clovis North – Another sophomore who had a terrific performance, Lingenfelter tied for a team-high 10 kills on 22 swings and hitting .364.
Peyton Bitter SR OH Clovis North – Bitter’s was a steadying presence as she carried a big load on offense. She took a team-high 28 swings and finished tied for the team lead with 10 kills. She also had nine digs and two aces.
Sophia Wolfson JR MB Buckley – An athletic middle, Wolfson was part of a strong offensive effort even though Buckley came up a couple points short in the fifth. She was one of three teammates to reach double-digit kills. She had 11 and hit .320.
Tate Drageset SO OH Buckley – Drageset was a busy body as she took 60 of her team’s 124 attempts. She recorded 23 kills, hitting .283 to go with 10 digs and three aces. Though a bit undersized, Drageset is springy and gets off the ground quickly and routinely punished Archie Williams down the line.
Adonia Anene JR OH Buckley – Anene showed her skills, registering 11 kills and hitting .333. She was also a big part of serve receive and her steady passing helped keep the attack clicking.
Charlotte Reff JR S Buckley – Running the show was Reff, who did a great job giving her hitters looks and keeping the offense in rhythm. She finished with 42 assists.
Elsa Snipes SR OH Archie Williams – Snipes’ double-double of 25 kills and 12 digs was a key piece of the team’s success. She took a team-high 55 swings and hit .291. Her ability to find the open spot on the floor or tool the block caused fits for Buckley.
Reese Fraser JR S Archie Williams – Fraser – who had 48 assists – had the Falcons going. For the match, Archie Williams hit .341. It included Fraser getting involved herself, as she had nine kills. Another part of her performance included Archie Williams hitting .606 in the second set. It was a great display of offense from Fraser and teammates.
Lindsey Jones JR OH Archie Williams – Like everyone else, Jones was efficient and effective with her attacking. She had 15 kills on 33 swings, hitting .303.
Lauren Barnwell SR RS Archie Williams – Barnwell could’ve been the MVP of the match. She had 12 kills and hit .429 with 13 digs. She was also a huge part of serve receive, passing dimes consistently.
Jordan Vander Veen JR OH Ripon Christian – Vander Veen handled her responsibility of carrying a big offensive load with flying colors. She had 20 kills on 56 swings as she took the bulk of the attempts.
Sydney Hoffman JR MB Ripon Christian – When called upon, Hoffman came through large. She had six kills on 17 swings, hitting a team-best .353.
Karlee De Groot SR MB Central Valley Christian – It was a tough day for the CVC attack, which struggled to get going outside of De Groot. The senior middle had eight kills on 18 swings, hitting a team-leading .333 (min. 5 attempts).
Tatum Lane SR S Palos Verdes – Lane did a terrific job directing the attack and really utilizing all of her hitters. Yes, as usual, the outsides took the most combined swings but Lane set the middle 55 times in the five-set loss, as well as setting right side Mallory LaBreche another 22 times. She finished with 59 assists and an impressive 24 digs.
Kaci Demaria SO OH Palos Verdes – The sensational sophomore dazzled as her length posed significant problems for the Branson block. There were many highlight kills included among the 27 balls Demaria – a 4-star recruit – put away. She hit .250, a very respectable number given the amount of out-of-system swings she was tasked taking.
Logan Tusher JR S Branson – Tusher’s setting was the difference in Branson’s five-set victory in the Division 1 final. She consistently kept Branson in system with her setting on tough passes and she was excellent in keeping the Palos Verdes’ blockers guessing as she got her hitter a wide-open swing with no one up. She ended with 53 assists and 20 digs.
Elena Fischer SO OH Branson – A three-star recruit who excels on the sand as well, Fischer earned a well-deserved ice bath after Friday’s contest in which she took an incredible 85 swings! It led to a match-high 29 kills and hitting .282 with 25 digs. Her steady passing and heady attacking were instrumental in the Bulls’ victory.
Lauren Dignan SO L Branson – Another sophomore who starred in Branson’s victory, Dignan ended with a team-high 28 digs. She was active and backrow disrupter as she picked off lots of hard shots coming her way and often extended rallies for Branson to take advantage of.
Rebeca Freitas SR L Berean Christian – Freitas brought lots of energy to the defensive side. She was seemingly everywhere making plays. She finished with a match-high 23 digs.
Sophie Hall JR OH Berean Christian – The junior outside brought the needed firepower to the attack. She had team highs in kills (18) and swings (48) plus contributed with 12 digs.
Kealoha Phillips JR OH Victory Christian – The 1-2 punch of Phillips and Rogers was entertaining as they put on a fun offensive display. Phillips’ strong outing included 18 kills and 17 digs.
Saren Rogers SR OH Victory Christian – Rogers had an enormous performance, putting up a team-high 27 kills to go with 19 digs.
