The possibility of a letdown is always at the top of the list of things to be concerned about whenever a team is coming off of an emotional victory like the Mater Dei girls volleyball team had Saturday night.
Just a couple of nights after ending a two-year losing streak in the CIF-SS Division 1AA finals, the Monarchs were back on the court to start the pursuit of another goal, claiming the program’s first CIF state title.
“I think a lot of them are emotionally drained from putting so much into that CIF run,” Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell said. “Finally accomplishing it, I think a lot of them are emotionally tired, but we had a fun practice (on Monday) to get together as a team and get a little bit of stuff down.”
The first steps were positive as the host Monarchs (26-7) took care of visiting Valencia of Valencia, 25-22, 25-7, 25-20, Tuesday night in the first round of the CIF Southern California Regional tournament.
“The goal of this program and the girls is to leave a legacy,” O’Dell said. “The seniors that are graduating have left one with winning a CIF title, but to go out with a CIF state title would be unbelievable.”
For now, the Monarchs are taking things one match at a time. They will host Trabuco Hills in the second round Saturday night.
The Monarchs didn’t have too much trouble against the Vikings, except for a stretch in the third set that saw them fall behind, 12-10. They recovered and scored six consecutive points for a 16-12 lead
“We’ve been passing well for the whole CIF run and I don’t think we passed well tonight,” O’Dell said. “I don’t know if they (Valencia) were a really good serving team or our girls were just not moving their feet. I didn’t think we executed in serve receive, which allowed them to go on a couple of runs that we haven’t been allowing to get to this point.
“When we were in system, I though we executed our offense really well, so that was good to see.”
Shannon Scully led the Monarchs with 11 kills, Rachel Ritchie and Makena Martin had nine and seven, respectively.
Also in Division I:
Trabuco Hills 3, Cathedral Catholic 1: After winning their first-ever CIF title Saturday, the Mustangs (32-4) kicked off the SoCal Regionals with a 25-20, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22 road victory over the Dons.
Allie Kantor led the Mustangs with 29 kills.
In Division III:
Saddleback Valley Christian 3, Independence of Bakersfield 2: The Warriors (23-8) are no strangers to five-set matches, having been extended in the CIF-SS Division 3A semifinals and final.
Tuesday night, SVC again went the distance and pulled off a 18-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12 road victory.
SVC, which advanced to the CIF state finals last year, is the fifth seed in the Southern California bracket. The Warriors will face top-seeded Valley View of Moreno Valley in the second round Saturday.
In Division V:
Frazier Mountain 3, Tarbut V’Torah 0: The Lions were defeated in a first-round match, 25-19, 25-11, 25-11.
