High school volleyball: No. 1 Mater Dei wins Nike Tournament of Champions Southwest over No. 3 Cornerstone Christian

PHOENIX, Ariz. — No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) took down No. 3 Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas) for the second time in two weeks to add a Nike Tournament of Champions volleyball title to its resume this season.

The top-ranked Monarchs got a 25-23, 22-25, 15-13 victory to win their second straight Nike TOC and third overall after wining in 2017. They also won the Durango Fall Classic in September along with a Dave Mohs title and a preseason Queens Court championship.

UCLA commit Westley Matavao led Mater Dei with 10 kills while Cal pledge Emma Kingston and Long Beach commit Saaliyah Brown each added five Kills, and Kalea Lee dished up 11 assists. 

Sophomore middle Jael Smith was the tournament MVP while Brown was all-tournament along with junior Hawaii commit Riley Stringer.

The tournament title comes on the heels of the Monarchs' first loss of the season, 3-1 to league foe Santa Margarita on Wednesday.

"The girls, once again, rose to the occasion to perform when they needed to most," Mater Dei coach Dan O'Dell said. "The goal was this year was never to go undefeated. The goal was to keep getting better and I think this weekend was another step in that direction."

Cornerstone Christian's Sydney Whisenton had eight assists, seven kills and three blocks while Claire Bolton had five kills.

The top-ranked Monarchs downed the Warriors 25-19, 19-25, 25-23 in the Durango Fall Classic quarterfinals on Sept. 19 on their way to the tournament title. In 2025, Cornerstone beat Mater Dei for the now-defunct Nike TOC Southeast title. 

Mater Dei is the first team to win Durango and Nike TOC Southwest in the same season since Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.) in 2021, the same year the Sailors were crowned MaxPreps National Champions.

Mater Dei def. Cornerstone Christian — 25-23, 22-25, 15-13

Mater Dei def. Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) — 25-19, 25-21

Cornerstone Christian def. Marymount — 21-25, 25-18, 15-5

Mater Dei def. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) — 25-20, 23-25, 15-12

Xavier College Prep def. Centennial (Corona, Calif.) — 14-25, 25-23, 15-10

Marymount def. O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz.) — 19-25, 25-18, 15-8

Cornerstone Christian def. Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.) — 25-20, 25-17