MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) Monarchs have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its ninth year honoring volleyball.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For volleyball, only 10 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 20,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Monarchs ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Central 25-13, 25-12, 25-13 in the
CIF Open Division state championship contest on Saturday, November 17 marked the completion of an incredible 43-2 season — and earned Mater Dei an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
Mater Dei jumped out to 9-3, 17-3 and 7-0 advantages in the first, second and third sets respectively, before sweeping Central to claim its first girls state volleyball title at Santiago Canyon College. The Monarchs came up short in state championship matches in 2003, 2004 and 2017 before breaking through in November.
Mia Tuaniga and Natalie Berty led the Monarch attack with nine kills each, while Meg Brown slapped eight balls to the ground and Brielle Mullally accounted for seven smashes. Kristina Pepek and Reagan Merk took credit for six and one kill respectively. Mandalay Rennon and Berty were credited with three ace serves each, while Tuaniga put down two ace serves and Berty and Pepek blocked three enemy balls apiece. Rennon and Berty dug up 11 and seven enemy balls respectively, while Mullally was credited with a team-high 18 set assists. Tuaniga added 15 set assists.
The Monarchs, who had 40 kills as a team to just 25 for the runners-up, hit .442 in the state championship match. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, hit just .148 for the three sets. Mater Dei was solid at the service line, slapping 71 of 73 balls over the net and in play, while Central misfired on five of just 40 attempts from behind the service line.
Mater Dei opened postseason play with a 25-27, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 win over Long Beach Poly before kicking in the door to the Final Four with a 19-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-19 triumph over Redondo Union. The Monarchs bumped Marymount from state championship contention with a 26-28, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-7 semifinal victory to set up the championship bout with Central.
Dan ODell's club opened the season with a 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 16-14 win over Sierra Canyon. Then, following a 25-14, 25-15, 25-22 triumph over Torrey Pines, Mater Dei upended Foothill 25-21, 30-28, 14-25, 25-22 to start the year 3-0. The Monarchs then won 40 of their final 42 matches and took 112 of the 130 sets they played during the year. Mater Dei swept 31 foes and allowed only four opponents to claim more than one set in a match. Having won their final 14 matches of the year, the Monarchs set themselves up for some very high rankings come season's end. Not only is Mater Dei ranked No. 1 in
MaxPreps' California Southern Section Division 1/D2 Rankings, the Monarchs are the best squad in
MaxPreps' California Southern Section Rankings and the
MaxPreps California Division 1 Rankings. Mater Dei is the best club in all of
California, claimed the National Championship in
MaxPreps' National Rankings and played its way into the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers' Poll at No. 3
These incredible season achievements have earned the Mater Dei Monarchs an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the Grotto for a sports assembly as we celebrate with the girls volleyball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Wednesday, April 24 at 10:15 a.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.