Been there, Dug that

Mater Dei is a school filled with tons of spirit and competition. A favorite sport is Girl’s Volleyball. Last year, in the 2015­-2016 season, Mater Dei Girl’s Volleyball team took the CIF title winning in four sets against Redondo Union High School. This season the team hopes to defend this winning title.

As of now, Mater Dei’s Girl’s Volleyball Team is undefeated out of 11 games. They recently won the Dave Mohs Tournament and are now ranked the No.1 team in the nation. The team practices daily, working on their weaknesses and improving to keep their current standings.

“I think we have the potential to be by the end of the year,” said Dan O’Dell, Varsity Girl’s Volleyball coach. “Right now, we’re just a team trying to get a lot better.”

Setting up for Success

Dell is confident in his team, but still believes there is always room for improvement and wants his girls to work to be the best.

He states that he is trying to keep them, “humble, making sure they’re not taking past successes;” he doesn’t want them, “assuming that those things will happen again in the future.”

The girls train each day to work to be at their best—winning a CIF title is not easy and takes time and effort.

“They need to know that everyday is a chance for them to get better,” said O’Dell. “We need to keep working if we want to be able to repeat what happened in the past.”

This year, O’Dell believes they are going to be a little different than in the past.

“They’ve lost a lot of girls due to graduation but they do have some good young talent,” said O’Dell.

He says that right now he’s focusing on their own side of the net and getting the girls to be the best they can be.

“Redondo will challenge that and find some weaknesses for us so that we can find some more things to work on,” O’Dell said.

Mater Dei played Redondo Union on September 21. The girls worked their hardest, digging every ball, swinging their hardest, and controlling their serves. In the first set, Mater Dei Lost to Redondo 21­-25, but fought back in the second set, winning 25­-18. Redondo won by two points in the third set with a score of 25-­23. Mater Dei won the fourth set, 25­-19. In the fifth and final set, Mater Dei finished the game with a victorious win of 15­-10.

The support the team receives help encourage the players to be at their best. The players love having support from the student section during games

“Yes definitely! Not only do the fans pump us up but they also help keep momentum on our side,” said senior Shannon Scully, team Captain.

The girls volleyball won their match against JSerra on September 20. Another upcoming game against Santa Margarita will be held September 28 and October 20.

Coming Back

According to MaxPreps, they are ranked No.1 in the nation.

“Since we are ranked No. 1, we have a lot of pressure, but I think it helps us to be confident,” said Scully. “We just have to prove to everyone that we are good enough to stay on top”

Winning CIF last year and currently being undefeated the team has a big target on their back now every team wants to beat them even more. But like the team says as a tradition “every way, everyday we get a little better and better.”

As for the seniors on the team, they are hoping for another CIF win for their last year at Mater Dei High School.

“I want to win CIF again so badly, especially because it is my senior year. The feeling after we won last year was so rewarding.” exclaims Scully.