LAS VEGAS, Nev. — No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) survived high school volleyball’s longest day beating No. 1 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 25-18, 25-1, on Saturday to claim the 31st annual Durango Fall Classic title.
It was the record-tying sixth Durango championship for the program, equaling Kentucky power Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) as six top 10 teams from the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings reached the quarterfinals.
Mater Dei’s win over Sierra Canyon is likely the first chapter in a three-act play in a race for the Southern Section and CIF Southern California championships. Last year, Sierra Canyon beat Mater Dei in the section final before the Monarchs bested the Trailblazers on their run to the Open Division state crown.
On Saturday, the Monarchs got seven kills and three aces from freshman Jimin Seung, five kills from Westley Matavao and four kills from Katherine Nowak…