Anything short of a head-to-head result or results between the undisputed two top programs in the country means determining the high school national champion is completely subjective. A season ago Cathedral Catholic made it an easy choice given the Dons went undefeated and only dropped one set all year as they captured the Durango Fall Classic title and the California Open Division state championship.
The only other team under consideration last fall was Cornerstone Christian of Texas. While the Warriors did hand eventual TAPPS 6A champ Prestonwood Christian its only loss as well as defeat Texas 6A state champ Dripping Springs, plus beat CA Open Division semifinalist Mira Costa, they suffered their only loss to Westminster Christian FL in the final of the Nike TOC Southeast tournament. That lone loss ended any heated debate between Cathedral Catholic and Cornerstone Christian in terms of the national championship. It would have been nearly impossible to pick between the pair had both ended the year undefeated.
There are three important factors in determining a national champion. One is overall record. Another is strength of schedule. And lastly a team must capture its state championship, because if a team isn’t the best in its state how can it be the best in the nation?
That leads us to our 2023 High School National Champion – Mater Dei of California. Mater Dei finished the year 43-2. While they did not go undefeated like Hamilton Southeastern of Indiana or Wayzata of Minnesota, the Monarchs strength of schedule was vastly superior. The Monarchs earned two major tournament titles in Volleypalooza and the Durango Fall Classic. And after defeating nationally-ranked Archbishop Mitty in four sets this past Saturday evening, they earned their second California Open Division state championship to match the one they claimed in 2018.
“It’s amazing,” Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell said. “Winning tournaments is tough. I’ve had a lot of good teams and we didn’t win Durango. Playing those best-of-three tournaments is just a crap shoot. I don’t know if I would have believed anyone who said we would win two major tournaments, CIF and state and accomplish all of that. It’s really impressive. It’s a testament to the girls. Whenever they needed to be really good, they showed up.”
The core of the roster was largely the same from a season ago. Senior outside and 4-star San Diego commit Isabel Clark, senior right side and 4-star Michigan commit Cymarah Gordon, sophomore outside and 5-star recruit Layli Ostovar, senior libero and 3-star Stanford commit Malyssa Cawa, junior setter Ayva Ostovar and senior defensive specialist and 3-star recruit Tessa Hurley all played key roles in 2022.
The biggest turnover came in the middle, where Mater Dei leaned on sophomore and 3-star recruit Addison Coady and freshman and 3-star recruit Emma Kingston to start the year. Mater Dei was boosted by the eligibility of senior setter/right side and 3-star Brown commit Julia Kakkis, who had to sit out all last year after transferring due to a CIF ruling. The depth of the lineup was crucial in the team’s success.
“That was our strength,” O’Dell said. “We never really relied on just one kid every match. We had Izzy, Cymarah and Layli to carry us. If someone was off, there was someone else to shoulder the load. We had such balance and multiple players being part of our success. We have an amazing libero in Malyssa and a great setter in Julia to orchestrate it all.
“Emma, our freshman middle, was massive at the end of the season. She really improved her blocking from the beginning of the season and by the end she was single-handily taking out middles and shutting down outsides. She had nine blocks in the CIF final. She had seven or eight against Cathedral Catholic in the semis and she had eight against Mitty. She was averaging about two blocks per set in that stretch.
“Tessa Hurley, our DS, she made some outstanding plays. She would be a starting libero on so many teams but she happens to play with Malyssa.”
A season ago, Cathedral Catholic overcame the loss of senior outside and Stanford commit Julia Blyashov and won four state matches without her. While Mater Dei didn’t lose its top player like the Dons, the Monarchs did deal with a couple of key injuries. The first was losing Coady to an ankle injury during Volleypalooza. She remained out past the Durango Fall Classic. Another was losing Ayva Ostovar the week leading into Dave Mohs and having to switch to Kakkis running a 5-1, which she did for the remainder of the season.
“When we switched to a 5-1 it was tough,” O’Dell said. “We were trying something new and we were exposed by Cathedral Catholic. They were doubling up our outsides and we weren’t running the middles. We just weren’t great. After that, we started implementing Layli going to six rotations. She was hurt at the beginning of the year so we had been subbing her out back row. We wanted her in the back row so with her and Izzy we always had a back row attack to get more offense in the 5-1. Julia started getting more comfortable at the net and getting used to the 5-1. It also helped having middle depth because with Megan Rice and Sofia Walker we were able to mix and match. But the main change was Layli going six rotations so we had more offense.”
Mater Dei didn’t lose the rest of the way after falling to Cathedral Catholic in the Dave Mohs final. That brings us to Mater Dei’s record. A pair of losses is usually enough to eliminate a team from the national championship picture. As we mentioned earlier, Cornerstone Christian was eliminated with just one loss in 2022, as was Prestonwood Christian, who only lost to Cornerstone Christian. As for Mater Dei, the Monarchs ended the year with a winning record against both opponents they lost to in Mira Costa and Cathedral Catholic.
Mira Costa was the first team to defeat Mater Dei just days after the Monarchs took home the Volleypalooza trophy. Mater Dei avenged that loss by beating Mira Costa in the Durango Fall Classic final, then beat the Mustangs once more in the CIF Southern Section final. Mater Dei downed Cathedral Catholic in the semifinals of Volleypalooza before falling to the Dons in the final of Dave Mohs two weeks later. Mater Dei took the season series when they beat Cathedral Catholic last week in the CA Open Division semifinals.
Next let’s look at Mater Dei’s strength of schedule, which was arguably tops in the nation. Volleypalooza was loaded with the best Texas had to offer and the Monarchs left Austin with the title. It was a field that featured eventual TAPPS 6A state champ Prestonwood Christian (who Mater Dei beat in the final), as well as eventual Texas 6A state champ Grand Oaks. The tournament also featured 6A runner-up Cinco Ranch, plus 6A semifinalists in Prosper and Harlan and 6A quarterfinalists Dripping Springs and Seven Lakes. Also competing there was Texas 5A runner-up Liberty Hill (who Mater Dei defeated in three) and 5A semifinalist Colleyville Heritage.
Winning the Durango Fall Classic was another major accomplishment, as it’s the toughest and deepest tournament in the country, especially this season. Not only did Mater Dei avenge its loss to Mira Costa by beating the Mustangs in the final, the Monarchs also topped eventual Arizona 6A quarterfinalist Xavier Prep in the qualifying round. Mater Dei then beat eventual Kentucky state champion Assumption in the quarterfinals. The field also featured previously-mentioned Prestonwood Christian and Cornerstone Christian, as well as eventual state champions in Lone Peak (Utah 6A), Bishop Gorman (Nevada 5A), Kamehameha (Hawaii Division 1), Skyview (Idaho 4A) and Maple Mountain (Utah 5A). The packed field also contained CA Open Division state runner-up Archbishop Mitty, plus Open Division semifinalists in Cathedral Catholic and St. Francis/Mountain View.
Mater Dei winning the California Open Division state title solidified its standing as the top team in the country in 2023. Mater Dei was 0-3 against Archbishop Mitty in prior state final meetings, including losing in the Open Division final in 2017.
“I was nervous,” O’Dell said. “When we lost in 2017 to Mitty, they came out and served us off the court. It was mind-boggling how much pressure they put on us. Then within the first two points Mitty aces us and I’m thinking is it going to happen again? Mitty played well. We ended up stepping up when we needed to. The games were close and then we would go a run. I’m really proud of the finish to the season. There is late pressure in winning state and potentially a national championship. We didn’t ever really talk too much about a national championship this season.”
Congratulations as well to Hamilton Southeastern and Wayzata on amazing seasons. Had Mater Dei lost to Archbishop Mitty in Saturday’s state final, HSE would have a strong case to finish the year No. 1. Both undefeated schools could join the debate and make a claim for being No. 1, as both have talented rosters.
Hamilton Southeastern is led by 5-star senior outside and Florida commit Lauren Harden. Also part of the lineup is 3-star junior outside and Mississippi State commit Lindsey Mangelson, 4-star sophomore outside Madison Miles, 3-star junior setter and Loyola-Chicago commit Ava Hunter, 4-star senior setter and Santa Clara setter Macy Hinshaw, and senior libero Sophie Ledbetter (Ball State). Wayzata features 5-star senior setter and Minnesota commit Stella Swenson, as well as 3-star senior outside Olivia Swenson (Minnesota) and 3-star right side Avery Jesewitz.
However, neither school played outside its own state and simply didn’t have the strength of schedule Mater Dei did. Perhaps HSE or Wayzata could have played the same schedule and done as well if not better than Mater Dei, but that’s where the what-ifs begin.
In the end, what Mater Dei accomplished as a whole led the Monarchs to be deserving of being named vballrecruiter.com’s 2023 High School National Champions.
“It’s awesome,” O’Dell said. “When these things happen like winning CIF or winning state, I’m most happy for the girls who get that experience. These are memories and something they will have for the rest of their lives. It’s something they will have accomplished and they will always have that for Mater Dei volleyball. I’m really happy for them and proud of the girls.”
