Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon setting the pace in

Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon have been the two best high faculty ladies’ volleyball groups in the Southland the last a number of years and the chances are high that they may meet in the Southern Section Division 1 finals for a third consecutive season.

Mater Dei received the state Open Division championship in November, led by 4 seniors now suiting up for NCAA Division I applications — setter Sam Capinpin at Cal State Bakersfield, libero Lizzy Robinson at Oregon and center blocker Addison Coady and outdoors hitter Layli Ostovar (the 2025 Gatorade California participant of the yr) at USC.

The Monarchs received the Queen’s Court Invitational (the last preseason warmup event) 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 5 elite transfers: senior reverse hitter Katherine Nowak from JSerra; junior outdoors hitter/defensive specialist Sienna Cicero from Orange Lutheran; junior center blocker Reagan Williams from Sunny Hills; junior outdoors hitter Janiah Burrage from Rancho Christian and senior center hitter (and Long Beach State commit) Saaliyah Brown from Etiwanda, all of whom are keen to contribute once the obligatory sit-out period ends Sept. 13.

In a matchup of reigning state champions, Mater Dei prevailed in 5 units over Harvard-Westlake in its Aug. 11 season opener, and it was no shock 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 have been 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 yr in the past. “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 instant affect was freshman Jimin Seung, who ended the first level of the season with a kill and completed with 10. On a group with 11 seniors, Seung is becoming proper in with a fearless angle and aggressive 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.”

Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell guided the Monarchs to the CIF State Open Division championship in 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Though Mater Dei has superior depth, Sierra Canyon has a more skilled beginning lineup — a nucleus of All-Americans consisting of Missouri-bound setter Lucky Fasavalu, Nebraska-bound center Kendall Omoruyi and a trio of outdoors hitters in Eva Jeffries (Tennessee), Hanna McGinest (Texas Tech) and McKenna McIntosh (USC).

Filling the last rotation spot might be Isabella Torres-Wallace from ICL Academy; fellow sophomore center Cassie Smith and junior Raneighla Gonzalez, who transferred from Heritage Christian last yr but bought harm and performed in only two units. The top back row choices for coach Stefanie Wigfall, who will doubtless go the 400-win mark this season, are senior Olive Shum and Mira Costa switch Blake Gurney.

Sierra Canyon, which beat Mater Dei to win its second part title in 4 years last fall, completed fifth at Queen’s Court without Fasavalu, Omoruyi and McGinest, who led the group a yr in the past with a mixed 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 attain 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 event for the first time.

Lucky Fasavalu helped lead Sierra Canyon to the Southern Section Division 1 title in 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Division I state champion Harvard-Westlake bought 12 kills each from sophomore Brooke Cotter and Boston College-bound Ruby Sampson and 11 from Princeton commit Sophia Cotter against Mater Dei. Last yr the Wolverines completed third in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon and Marymount, which has misplaced 5 Division I gamers to commencement — 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 center/reverse hitter dedicated to Stanford for seaside volleyball.

Challenging Mater Dei in the Trinity League might be Santa Margarita, which received the Southern Section Division 2 title last yr behind participant of the yr Ireland Real, a Texas commit who pounded more than 400 kills and had 150 digs.

Mira Costa might be led by senior captains Brynn Barry (libero), Lerin Rosenthal (setter, reverse) and Allyn Hilt (outdoors hitter) but may 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 related circumstance, having to substitute hitter Abby Zimmerman (Cal), twins Avery and Addi Junk (Florida State) and center blocker Taylor Boice (UC Irvine). Cypress graduated CIF-SS Division 3 participant of the yr Isabella Faro.

Defending champion Palisades and Taft, which misplaced to the Dolphins in the Open Division semifinals last fall, are the preseason favorites in the City Section.

Matavao relished a probability to face her cousin Fasavalu (the CIF-SS Division 1 participant of the yr) 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.