Dan O'Dell had a feeling two years ago that his
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) volleyball team was poised for a special season in 2023. The Monarchs finished 2021 with a 36-6 mark and a Southern California Open Division regional semifinal finish. But, the coach said, the pieces were beginning to come together.
Those pieces completed the puzzle Saturday with a 3-1 victory over No. 8
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) in the CIF Open Division final to secure the 2023 MaxPreps National Championship, finishing No. 1 in the final MaxPreps Top 25.
"Since these girls were sophomores, I’ve had this year circled on the calendar," O'Dell said following his team's title win.
The 2021 Mater Dei team had four sophomores on the court and added setter
Julia Kakkis via transfer at the end of the season.
"It’s like you saw this team where you had pins, you had a libero, you had a setter, you had all the makings for this unbelievable team in the future," O'Dell said. "And I think we were close at times last year and we could never really go over the edge. It seemed like with one more year of maturity this group was capable of something special."
Senior outside hitters
Isabel Clark and
Cymarah Gordon, libero
Malyssa Cawa and Kakkis settled in their roles. Sophomore hitter
Layli Ostovar came back from an offseason injury to emerge as a legitimate third option for the attack. And with middles
Emma Kingston, a freshman, and
Addison Coady along with defensive specialists
Tessa Hurley and
Sydney Raszewski, Mater Dei began crafting their push toward a title.
Clark (University of San Diego commit) led the Monarchs with 402 kills, Gordon (Michigan) added 358 and Ostovar chipped in 347. Kakkis (Brown) tossed up 1,103 assists and Cawa (Stanford) tallied 545 digs and 558 serve receives. Kingston had 125 blocks as Kakkis added 84.
"For me, I’m thankful the girls get to experience this. For these girls
to be state champs and national champs and accomplish what they did, I’m
so proud they’ll have this for the rest of their lives and they can go
back and look back at these memories," O'Dell said.
"Winning those tournaments is pretty amazing because winning best-of-three tournaments those are crap shoots," O'Dell said. "It’s nice when you come out with them but you also never expect to win that many tournaments. It’s very impressive the girls were able to do that.
"We're a tough team to go against."
Mater Dei ends the season on a 24-match win streak, including a postseason run through five ranked opponents.
Archbishop Mitty coach Jon Wallace said the national schedule, along with a Southern California gauntlet of powerhouse programs prepares the Monarchs for those state title pressure situations. Indeed, the last three MaxPreps National Champions – Mater Dei,
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) and
Marymount (Los Angeles) – all have come from talent-rich Southern California, have also tested themselves at national tournaments like Durango (where each won) and have had that combination of talent that sets them apart.
"Mater Dei played really well and they have been playing well all year. I think the competition they faced is something we need to do, to find a way to play teams like that more often in the course of our schedule," said Wallace, who took his team to the state final in 2021 against Marymount and watched his daughter play against Cathedral Catholic last year as part of the
Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) runner-up team.
O'Dell said actually being able to win a state championship, with the lofty ranking and expectation, is a sigh of relief.
"You know they’re capable of it, but to do it against the teams we played to get here is absolutely amazing," he said. "I can’t credit the girls enough for their ability to stay focused for so many matches in a row, to be on their game for so many matches in a row. To go out and win that many in a row is really hard to do and I’m in awe of what they did."
Past MaxPreps National Champions2009 — Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
2010 — Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.)
2011 — Papillion-LaVista South
2012 — Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
2013 — The Woodlands (Texas)
2014 — Lewis-Palmer (Monument, Colo.)
2015 — Cathedral (Indianapolis)
2016 — Mother McAuley (Chicago)
2017 — Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
2018 — Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
2019 — Torrey Pines (San Diego)
2020 — No champion recognized due to pandemic
2021 — Marymount (Los Angeles)
2022 — Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Final 2023 MaxPreps Top 251. (Last week No. 1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 43-2CIF Open Division state champion.
2. (3) Grand Oaks (Spring, Texas), 50-1Class 6A state champion.
3. (2) Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), 33-0Class 4A state champion.
4. (5) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), 36-4TAPPS 6A state champion.
5. (7) Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.), 37-3Class AAAA state champion.
6. (8) Divine Savior Holy Angels (Milwaukee, Wis.), 47-1Division 1 state champion.
7. (9) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 37-5Kentucky state champion.
8. (11) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 33-5CIF Open Division state runner-up.
9. (10) Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 33-0Class AAAA state champion.
10. (12) Mother McAuley (Chicago, Ill.), 37-5Class 4A state champion.
11. (4) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.), 34-5CIF Southern California Open Division finalist.
12. (6) Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), 39-4CIF Southern California Open Division semifinalist.
13. (14) Alpharetta (Ga.), 38-3Class AAAAAA state champion.
14. (15) Dike-New Hartford (Dike, Iowa), 50-0Class 2A state champion.
15. (16) Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 36-2Class 5 state champion.
16. (17) Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio), 29-0Division 3 state champion.
17. (18) Carrollwood Day (Tampa, Fla.), 31-2Class 3A state champion.
18. (19) Kamehameha Kapalama (Honolulu, Hawaii), 30-3Division I state champion.
19. (20) O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz.), 33-1Class 6A state champion.
20. (21) St. Mary's Dominican (New Orleans, La.), 42-2Division I state champion.
21. (22) Flint Hill (Oakton, Va.), 32-3VISAA Division I state champion.
22. (NR) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 27-3Class 6A state champion.
23. (13) Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 35-5CIF Northern California Open Division finalist.
24. (23) Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas), 34-725. (NR) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 29-1Non-Public B state champion.
Next 25
26. Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 29-0Class 5A state champion.
27. Kings (Kings Mill, Ohio), 29-1Division I state champion.
28. Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 34-10Class 5A state champion.
29. Mercy (Farmington Hills, Mich.), 29-14-3Division I state champion.
30. Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.), 29-13Class B state champion.
31. North Allegheny (Wexford, Pa.), 23-1Class 4A state champion.
32. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 34-5Class 5A state champion.
33. Cleveland (Tenn.), 42-8Division I Class AAA champion
34. Pope (Marietta, Ga.), 39-435. Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.), 35-7Kentucky state runner-up.
36. Fayetteville (Ark.), 25-8Class 6A state champion.
37. McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.), 46-8Class 7A state champion.
38. Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 28-5Class 6A state champion.
39. Plant (Tampa, Fla.), 25-3Class 7A state champion.
40. Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas), 38-6Class 6A state runner-up.
41. Prosper (Texas), 37-10Class 6A semifinalist.
42. Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 35-2-2Class 6A state champion.
43. Jenks (Okla.), 35-5Class 6A state champion.
44. Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 39-3Class 4A state runner-up.
45. Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 31-246. Marist (Chicago, Ill.), 33-547. Mill Valley (Shawnee, Kan.), 37-5Class 6A state champion.
49. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 35-250. Yorktown (Yorktown, Ind.), 27-6
