RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – If or when Mater Dei’s girls volleyball team gets to full strength, look out.
The Monarchs played great in every way Tuesday in a three-set sweep of Santa Margarita in a Trinity League match at Santa Margarita High.
Mater Dei won the first set 25-17, won the second set 25-14 and took the third set 25-19. The victory moved Mater Dei to 2-0 in league and dropped Santa Margarita to 0-2.
The Monarchs, No. 1 in the Orange County top 10 and No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Massey ratings that will determine which teams go into which playoff divisions are 24-4 overall. Santa Margarita, No. 8 in the county and No. 21 in the Massey CIF-SS ratings, is 11-7.
The Monarchs won Tuesday, and won the top division’s championship in this past weekend’s Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, without All-Orange County first-team outside hitter Westley Matavao, a UCLA commit who has been sidelined because of a tender shoulder. Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell said Matavao’s injury is not serious. Matavao is not playing for precautionary reasons, he said.
Ostovar, last season’s Orange County and CIF-SS Division 1 player of the year, had team highs of 17 kills and nine digs Tuesday. Mater Dei junior opposite hitter Syriana Messy had seven kills. Monarchs senior Addison Coady and junior Shewa Adefemiwa had five blocks each.
Ostovar, MVP of the Nike Tournament of Champions, said the Monarchs raised their level of play in that tournament. Their semifinals win over Bishop Gorman and finals triumph over Marymount were over two teams that had defeated Mater Dei earlier this season.
“That tournament in Arizona helped us connect a lot and build a lot of chemistry on the court,” Ostovar said. “We played well all tournament, especially against Bishop Gorman.”
An Ostovar kill was the first point of the match against Santa Margarita and another Ostovar spike provided the winning point in the first set the Monarchs won 25-17.
Mater Dei freshman middle blocker Jael Smith’s play at the net and her service ace helped the Monarchs go on a 5-0 run midway through the second set en route to a 25-14 win.
Santa Margarita led briefly early in the third set. Consecutive kills by Coady and a couple of smashing spikes by Ostovar gave the momentum back to Mater Dei, with the Monarchs going on to a 25-19 win to capture the match.
Mater Dei plays a Trinity League match at JSerra on Thursday. Santa Margarita is home against Orange Lutheran in a league match Thursday.