CHULA VISTA — One of the hardest things to do in sports is repeat as champions.
Mater Dei Catholic High School’s boys volleyball team knew the challenge that awaited it after winning a CIF title last year, and yet the Crusaders then went out and repeated last weekend.
On Saturday, they reached heights beyond their wildest dreams.
Top-seeded Mater Dei Catholic used a relentless approach and a well-rounded attack to beat visiting Los Angeles Wildwood, 25-22, 25-27, 25-13, 25-17, in Saturday’s Division 4 Southern California Regionals.
The Crusaders (32-10) advance to next Saturday’s State Final against Livingston (36-6) at 11 a.m. at Fresno City College. It’s the sport’s first-ever California state championship; previous seasons ended after the regional championship.
Mater Dei was one of three teams to play Saturday. Francis Parker fell to top-seeded (Division 2) Santa Ana Mater Dei 25-12, 26-24, 19-25, 27-25, and third-seeded (Division 3) Clairemont lost at top-seeded Newport Beach Sage Hill 25-16, 25-22, 25-22.
After a first-set win, Mater Dei Catholic gave up two set points and faced the real possibility of ending their season at home.
That’s when Crusaders coach Marissa Ritchie moved outside hitter Oskar Manguy-Meza to the middle.
“We’re a team that builds off energy, and I told him, ‘You’ve got to go in there and put a fire inside us’, ” Ritchiesaid. “Energy. Energy got that driving.”
The Crusaders are also now a team with back-to-back section championships and the first regional title in program history with a chance to hang a state banner among the 11 inside Bosco Gym.
“I’m just so proud of them,” Ritchie said. “They’re worked their tails off. They want it so much and they just deserve it.”
Manguy-Meza had a team-high 16 kills with two stuff blocks and two aces. It was his move to the middle that helped refocus the offense.
“I confidently knew I was the best choice,” Manguy-Meza said. “Being able to watch film on them for hours, we were able to pick up some of their tendencies. To be able to put a double block up there and have a great team backing you up, that made the difference.”
The visiting Wolves (17-13) had won 15 in a row, including a semifinal win over Fallbrook. But Mater Dei Catholic was able to withstand a match-high 28 kills from Matthew Matuszak.
The first set was tied at 19 before the Crusaders sideout game came up clutch. Manguy-Meza put a ball away on the outside then middle Emiliano Rodriguez had a stuff block. Aaron Wood’s dump gave the hosts some cushion, then Manguy-Meza got a kill from the outside in transition for the set win.
The Crusaders held the lead the entire second set until one of two late center line violations resulted in a 23-22 deficit. The hosts did have two set points at 24 and 25 but gave up three straight to lose 27-25.
Set three saw a complete turnaround as the Crusaders jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, notching four aces in the set. In fact, Manguy-Meza and Adrian Trevino each followed up a kill with two consecutive aces for an early 8-3 lead.
The fourth set was never in question after a 7-0 run midway through. Liam Kingston, who had 11 kills on the night, capped it with a kill on the outside in serve receive for the win.
Trevino added seven kills, three stuff blocks and two aces, and setter Wood had four stuff blocks, three kills and an ace. Libero Ethan Bundang had 14 digs.
“We’re overjoyed that we’ve got the chance to be able to compete at this level,” Manguy-Meza said. “We’re going in with all of our confidence and all our strength and just give it our all.”
