Mater Dei, Cypress, Harvard Westlake win girls’ volleyball state titles
Despite being denied a three-peat in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Mater Dei girls volleyball team still finished the season as champions – and ranked No. 1 in California.
The Monarchs (35-5) won their second Open Division state title in three years and third overall with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of Rocklin Saturday night at Santiago Canyon College.
Getting 31 kills from USC signee Layli Ostavar and 43 assists from Cal State Bakersfield-bound Sam Capinpin, Mater Dei closed out the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 winners with a 13-6 run in the third set.
Dan O’Dell’s team has won 20 of its last 21 matches, its only blemish being a four-set loss to Sierra Canyon in the CIF-South Sectional final.
Earlier Saturday, Cypress took advantage of its first state finals appearance by sweeping Clovis West, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, to win the Division II title under coach Alex Griffiths.
Isabella Faro had 14 kills and fellow senior Hannah Schoffstall dished out 30 for the Centurions (25-10), who swept Santa Ana Foothill Nov. 6 in the Southern Section Division 3 final.
It was redemption for Cypress, which lost to Bishop Diego in the Southern Section Division 3 semifinals and to Long Beach Poly in the first round of Division II regionals last season.
Harvard-Westlake won its sixth title and first since 2021 on Friday with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-17 victory over Roseville Woodcreek in the Division I championship match.
Kylie Parker had 14 kills and 15 digs, Sophia Cotter had 11 kills and senior middle blockers Lauryn Lewis (Penn commit) and Maya Stillwell (Northwestern commit) controlled the net for the Wolverines (28-8), who finished third in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon and Marymount and lost to Mater Dei in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals, a remarkable turnaround for a team that had a record of losses and missed the playoffs last year.
Coach Morgan Wijay returned to the program in January after a decade-long stint at Bishop Alemany, where she guided the Warriors to back-to-back CIF titles in 2021 and 2022. Wijay was on Adam Black’s team in 2007 when Harvard-Westlake won the Division III state title.
