CIF state volleyball: Mitty falls to Mater Dei in Open Division final

Makenna Crosson finishes with 16 kills to lead Mitty. Sacred Heart Cathedral gets swept in Division II title match.

Archbishop Mitty battled powerful Mater Dei in the CIF Open Division state championship match, but fell to the Monarchs of Southern California 25-18, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21. Mater Dei (43-2) won thanks to a strong offense, a huge block, and solid back row defense.

Mitty (33-5) made its second appearance in the state finals in three years. With 14, the San Jose school remains the clear leader in state titles, followed by Francis Parker of San Diego and St. Francis of Mountain View, both of which have nine.

Mitty was led in kills by sophomore Makenna Crosson (16), NYU-bound middle Amiya Kuchibhotla (11), Fairfield-committed Katelyn Cook (10), and right-side Izzy Romero (9).

“To be able to come to this event and compete at the highest level is awesome,” Mitty coach Jon Wallace said. “We blocked well and we got some good touches but they were pretty fast.”

Mater Dei was led by 17 kills from Michigan-bound Cymarrah Gordon, 14 kills from Layli Ostovar, and 13 kills from USD-bound Isabel Clark.

Mitty’s success began with Romero and Kuchibhotla. Mater Dei led 16-15 after the first set before pulling away. Mitty regrouped and exploded in the second set, taking a 19-10 lead. The set was tied at 22-22 after a furious Mater Dei rally, but Cook blasted a kill through the block and Romero smashed home the winner from the right side.

Mater Dei improved their block and tightened their back row defense, including on serve receive, in the third set. Mater Dei took a 19-10 lead in the fourth set, but Mitty fought back. Crosson was hitting from all over the court, and Cook had four kills to bring Mitty back within 20-19. Clark and Gordon, however, responded with kills to give Mater Dei the title.

“I love the energy we came out with,” said Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell. “Mitty served well, but we struggled in the second set.” We recovered, but Mitty was unfazed.”

DIVISION II

Campbell Hall swept Sacred Heart Cathedral 25-21, 25-17, 25-14 for the title. Mila Mijailovic led the Vikings (36-5) with 21 kills and Sierra Starkman added 10 kills. The Fightin’ Irish (25-15), third-place finisher in the West Catholic Athletic League behind Mitty and St. Francis, were paced by Sarah Caulder with 10 kills and 12 digs and Rachel Mak with eight kills.

SHC is now 1-5 in state finals, with the title coming in 2014. Campbell Hall, which lost only three matches to California teams this season, won a crown in its first state championship appearance.