Despite being denied a three-peat in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Mater Dei High girls volleyball team still ended the season a champion — and ranked No. 1 in California.
The Monarchs (35-5) captured their second Open Division state title in three years and their third overall with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of Rocklin on Saturday night at Santiago Canyon College.
Getting 31 kills from USC signee Layli Ostavar and 43 assists from Cal State Bakersfield-bound setter 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 squad won 20 of its last 21 matches — its only blemish being a four-set defeat to Sierra Canyon in the CIF-SS final.
Earlier Saturday, Cypress made the most of its first state finals appearance by sweeping Clovis West, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, to win the Division II title under head 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 on November 6 in the CIF-SS Division 3 final.
It was redemption for Cypress, which had lost to Bishop Diego in the CIF-SS Division 3 semifinals and to Long Beach Poly in the first round of the Division II regionals last season.
On Friday, Harvard-Westlake earned its sixth title and first since 2021 with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-17 victory over Roseville Woodcreek in the Division I championship match.
Kylie Parker pounded 14 kills and dug 15 balls, Sophia Cotter had 11 kills and senior middle blockers Lauryn Lewis (committed to Penn) and Maya Stillwell (committed to Northwestern) 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 losing record 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 staff back in 2007 when Harvard-Westlake won the Division III state title.