HUNTINGTON BEACH – Mater Dei’s girls volleyball team lost to a familiar foe Saturday.
The Monarchs lost 2-1 to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego in the championship match of the Dave Mohs Memorial Tournament at Edison High. Cathedral Catholic won the first set 25-14, Mater Dei won the second set 30-28 and Cathedral Catholic took the third set 16-14.
Cathedral Catholic (17-1) is No. 9 in the Maxpreps.com girls volleyball national rankings. Mater Dei (9-3) is No. 14 in those national rankings.
Mater Dei beat Cathedral Catholic last season in the CIF Southern California Regional Open Division final before beating Archbishop Mitty of San Jose in the CIF State Open Division championship match.
There could be more Mater Dei-Cathedral Catholic girls volleyball coming. Both teams are entered in the Durango Fall Classic Sept. 20-21 in Las Vegas. Maybe they will meet in the SoCal Regional again this November.
If a rematch happens, Mater Dei will need to have better success neutralizing Dons 6-foot-3 senior outside hitter Mae Kordas. Her hitting, blocking and passing skills Saturday were essential to Cathedral Catholic’s success against Mater Dei and the Dons’ win over Murrieta Valley in Saturday’s semifinals (Mater Dei beat Huntington Beach in the other semifinal, at Huntington Beach High).
Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell said the Dons on Saturday moved the ball around its half of the court better than the Monarchs did in theirs.
“All tournament our passing was awesome, O’Dell said. “That’s what helped us get to this point. They passed better than we did.”
Kordas, who committed to Yale, was named tournament MVP.
Mater Dei sophomore middle blocker Emma Kingston, who was essential to the Monarchs’ first-set win, and senior outside hitter Preslie Saunders were named to the all-tournament team.
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