Volleyball (Girls) | 11/3/2023 4:35:00 PM

Cathedral Catholic holds off Torrey Pines to win the San Diego Section Open Division girls volleyball crown

Read the full story featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune.



Cathedral Catholic High School's girls volleyball team enjoyed a dream season in 2022. A 42-0 record, losing just one set. A San Diego Section title. A state championship. A mythical national title with MaxPreps.com selecting the Dons the No. 1 team in the nation.

As for 2023, Tiana Owens, a senior who played very little on last year's team, called it "a rebuilding year."

Some rebuild. In front of a raucous crowd inside USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion, Cathedral rallied to knock off arch-rival Torrey Pines 25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 15-4 Friday night to win the Open Division title.

It's the Dons' third straight Open championship.

"Obviously, last year was a very perfect season," said Owens, a 6-foot frontcourt player bound for Colgate. "This year, we didn't want to compare ourselves. We wanted to find our own groove, make our own path."

Cathedral (32-4) beat Torrey Pines in five sets back in September. For a while Friday night, it looked like the Dons would romp past the Falcons (24-6). Cathedral won the first two sets easily and before the third set, a CIF official began unwrapping the award plaques.

The Falcons, though, would not go quietly into the night.

"The third set is always tricky," said Torrey Pines coach Brennan Dean. "(The team that's ahead) you get complacent. And we're fighting for our lives.

"I told them after the (second) set, with a smile on my face, 'You have a unique opportunity. You get to do one of the most enjoyable things in sports, a reverse sweep, (Sweeping three sets after being swept the first two.) We almost pulled it off. It was pretty cool."

Torrey Pines scored the first two points of the fifth set, then Cathedral dominated, taking 15 of the final 17 points. With the score 10-4, Michigan-bound Cathedral middle blocker Jenna Hanes pounded three straight kills.

Senior Ayva Moi closed the match in style, serving back-to-back aces. When the second one hit the floor, Cathedral's bench rushed the court, tackling their six teammates, the 15 players crashing onto the floor in celebration.

"Unfortunately," joked Cathedral head coach Juliana Conn, "you can't bring your superstars back forever." She lost five of last year's top eight players, including MaxPreps national player of the year Julia Blyashov.

"We made a completely different history this year. This was a little more like a team effort. Everyone needed to contribute."

The difference Friday night was Cathedral's depth. The Dons posted four players in double figures with kills: Owens (20), Hanes (13), Mae Kordas (11) and Moi (10). Kordas, a junior, may have been the Dons' most valuable player, adding five blocks to her stat line.

The Falcons had two players with double-figure kills, 6-3 sophomore Finley Krystkowiak (18) and Arizona State-bound Layla Williams (14). Williams was not surprised that her team rallied.

"Honestly, (losing the first two sets) it kind of made me more confident that we could win," she said. "I think our team does a lot better under pressure. Once those two sets went by, we were so much better. We felt like, 'We can do this.'"

Both teams will advance to the Southern California Regionals, which for Cathedral and Torrey will begin on Wednesday.

"I'm super proud that we pushed them," said Dean, "and I respect the way (Cathedral) responded."

Said Conn: "What I love is that both teams left it all out on the court, digging balls, making fantastic plays, fighting at the net. They played like it was a final. And in the end, our girls finished on top."

Norcross is a freelance writer.