This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in high school volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every Tuesday until the last high school state championship in November.
• The 27th Durango Fall Classic is in the books.
Top-seeded Cathedral Catholic, the nation’s No. 1 team according to three of the four entities that rank, took home the title by sweeping seven matches.
The Dons (24-0) methodically dismantled opponents with their unyielding offense, led by OHs Julia Blyashov and Milan Bayless and MB Jenna Hanes, who was rightfully chosen as the tournament’s MVP.
It was both fun and impressive to watch.
Hanes, a 6-3 junior committed to Michigan; along with Mia Compas and Ryleigh Patterson, comprised a middle trio that was far and away the most dominant in the tournament. Cathedral Catholic’s outsides are super impressive, but other teams here had pin hitters to rival them. The Dons were simply vastly superior in the middle and junior setter Amanda Seager found them again and again.
• Cathedral Catholic defeated Marymount, the tournament’s sixth seed, 25-20, 25-18, for the title, its second in four years. The Dons trailed, 15-12, in the first set before three Kapi Coleman kills and a Bayless block sparked an 8-0 run that gave Cathedral the lead for good.
Marymount, fueled by the tremendous hitting of senior outside Torrey Stafford, also led in the second set, 15-14, before a block by Hanes sent Cathedral Catholic on a 4-0 run to wrest the advantage from the Sailors. The Dons closed out the match by scoring 11 of the final 13 points, with Bayless, Coleman and Compas the catalysts at the end.
The Cathedral Catholic/Marymount finals matchup reprised last week’s final at the Dave Mohs Orange County Championships. Cathedral Catholic won that as well, 28-26, 25-17.
• The tournament was replete with standout teams and players. Other than Cathedral Catholic, I especially enjoyed watching Fayetteville of Arkansas, Mountain View of Utah and all of the Hawaiian teams. They all play that kind of fast-paced, athletic volleyball that I enjoy.
Here are the players, by position, who stood out to me:
Outsides: Blyashov, Stafford, Brooke Rockwell of Fayetteville, Claire Little of Vista Murrieta, Audrey Liddle of Archbishop Mitty and Finley Krystkowiak of Torrey Pines.
Stafford and Little wowed with their…
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