Mater Dei finds a spark, makes final

A block is just out of reach of Sage Hill's Kekai Whitford during the Southern California Regional match against La Jollay on Saturday.
Sage Hill fans cheer on the Lightning against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's Maddy Abbott, center, and Sahar Rohani celebrate their victory over La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's McKenna Halland goes for a spike against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's Kekai Whitford goes up for a block against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday.
Sage Hill's Sophia Mossman tries to tip the ball back over the net against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's McKenna Halland, right, spikes against La Jolla during the Lightning's sweep in a Division III regional semifinal match.
Sage Hill's Kekai Whitford serves during a match against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sophia Mossman of Sage Hill goes up for the block against La Jolla in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill won in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's Kekai Whitford celebrates winning the second game in the Southern California Regional on Saturday. Sage Hill defeated La Jolla in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10.
Sage Hill's McKenna Halland celebrates after winning the first game of Saturday's match against La Jolla.

By Damian Calhoun | dcalhoun@scng.com | Daily Breeze

November 29, 2014 at 10:35 p.m.

The timing was just right for the Mater Dei girls volleyball team.

Trailing by four points late in the first set of the CIF Division I SoCal Regional semifinal Saturday night, the Monarchs found an 8-0 run that turned a potential defeat into a victory.

Mater Dei went on to sweep visiting Santiago of Corona, 25-21, 25-11, 25-18, to advance to Tuesday’s regional final.

The Monarchs will be on the road, against top-seeded Redondo Union, in the regional final.

“I think our girls came out and kind of went through the motions,” Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell said. “I don’t know if it was a Saturday game where you don’t have school and the normal routine, but we just came, we weren’t playing bad, but we were just going through the motions.

“We weren’t covering every time and I thought Santiago was just outworking us.”

Alyse Ford led the Monarchs with 17 kills. Mater Dei had five players with at least 12 kills, led by J’Nai Higgins with 14.

Emilie Wright, who helped lead the comeback in the first set with three aces, finished with five.

In the third set, Mater Dei trailed 10-6, but rallied to take a 12-11 lead on a kill from Ford. With the set tied at 14-14, the Monarchs went on a 3-0 run take the lead for good.

“It was tough at first, you could tell the girls were a little tired from the Thanksgiving break,” Mater Dei senior Brittany Welsh said. “But we soon got things together, picked up the energy and were able to pull through.”

The victory sets up a rematch between Mater Dei and Redondo. The Sea Hawks defeated the Monarchs in the regular season and last week in the CIF-SS Division 1AA final.

“We’re fired up,” Welsh said. “We know how Redondo is and I know the team is extremely fired up.”

In Division III

Sage Hill 3, La Jolla 0: The Lightning advanced to the regional finals thanks to a 25-16, 25-22, 25-11 home victory.

Halland McKenna led Sage Hill with 15 kills. Kekai Whitford added 13 along with 18 digs. Maddy Abbott had 42 assists.

Sage Hill will host Saddleback Valley Christian in the regional finals. SVC defeated top-seeded Canyon Crest Academy, 28-26, 16-25, 25-22, 16-25, 15-11

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com