Since moving from the Sunshine League to the Mission League in 2014, only once has the Marymount girls’ volleyball team failed to earn at least a share of first place. That happened last year when Sierra Canyon beat the Sailors twice on its way to going undefeated.
Determined to get a piece of the pie this fall, Marymount hosted its rival Tuesday night in a battle between two top-five-ranked teams in California, and the Trailblazers rallied to win the final two sets to prevail, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 28-26, 15-12.
Hanna McGinest led the way with 16 kills and five digs, Florida A&M-bound Brandi Boston added nine kills and eight blocks, Deavan Antoine-Dillon had six kills and seven blocks, and University of San Diego commit Lauren Lynch had 14 digs for the Trailblazers (19-2, 3-0) in the first of two league matchups.
Since joining the league in 2022, Sierra Canyon has won the title twice, sharing it with Marymount the first year and winning it outright last fall. Both teams were coming off of strong showings at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, where Sierra Canyon took fifth in the championship bracket and Marymount lost by two points in the decisive third set in the finals against Mater Dei.
Pacing the Sailors (20-4, 3-1) were its three Division I commits, all juniors — outside hitter Sammy Destler (Washington), Elle Vandeweghe (Southern Methodist) and setter Olivia Penske (Georgetown). It was a physical confrontation between the athletes on both sides of the net, but also a battle of wits between two of the Southland’s most highly respected coaches in Sierra Canyon’s Stefanie Wigfall and Marymount’s Cari Klein.
Marymount hitter Makenna Barnes tips the ball over Sierra Canyon blocker Davan Antoine-Dillon in the fifth set.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times
)
“We’re really young and still trying to figure out the game,” Wigfall said. “The game isn’t going to slow down, it’s only going to speed up so we have to learn to play at that pace. We both expect it’s going to be a tough match every time we meet, but there’s no better way to prepare for the playoffs. League will be decided by which team can continue to get better.”
The Trailblazers fought off a match point before pulling out the fourth set to level it at two sets apiece and reeled off three points in a row after the fifth set was deadlocked 12-12. The teams face off again Oct. 10 in Chatsworth.