The blood, sweat, tears, and victories of Marymount’s Varsity Volleyball team have paid off. Our sailors continue the streak of their undefeated season as they won the CIF Regional Championship on Tuesday night against Cathedral Catholic. 

“It was emotional,” Elia Rubin — Marymount’s starting outside — explains as their 34-0 season was tested by the San Diego team. 

The crowd on Tuesday night was lively: full of chants, posters, and applause after every incredible offensive and defensive play. Both Cathedral Catholic and Marymount set out for victory, as they had outplayed top teams such as Mira Costa, Mater Dei, Village Christian, and Harvard Westlake. Cathedral Catholic, a high school in San Diego, is widely considered to be an athletic powerhouse, with over 160 CIF Championship Titles across all athletics. However, on Tuesday night, they could not compete with the Marymount Sailors. 

The game was on, led by vehement warm-ups and a heartfelt National Anthem sung by senior and starting middle, Rhiann Sheffie. Cathedral Catholic started off strong with their serves and gained a lead that was strong enough to throw off the Sailors. The score differed about one to two points for the entirety of the first set. Both teams realized that they couldn’t afford simple mistakes that could cost them the game. Following a tight game, Cathedral Catholic took the first set 25-19. 

“After game one I wasn’t worried. In our huddle, we took a deep breath and told ourselves, “it’s time to get our **** together, leave the nerves behind, and play like the team we know we are ” says Kerry Keefe, the Sailors’ starting right side describes. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

A much-needed huddle prompted the Sailors’ success. The crowd cheered and screamed after every point, lifting the spirits of the pavilion. Marymount started at the backline to serve and pulled a strong lead with indefensible offensive plays. Seemingly with ease, the Sailors won the second set 25-14.

A reverberation of cheers echoed throughout the gym from both sides. Yet, after a hard-fought game, the sailors achieved victory in their last two sets (25-17) (25-11). Teammates flooded the floor in triumph as the CIF Regional Championship title was awarded to the Marymount Sailors. A proud Marymount community gathered around the floor of the gym to watch each player receive a small CIF encased plaque. Finally, the coveted CIF Regional Championship Plaque was awarded to Cari Klein, Marymount’s head coach.

When asked about the team’s approach to the State Finals this Saturday, Amherst commit Charlotte Rasmussen says that their main tactic is “to keep it simple…we can’t focus on how the other team plays.” 

Marymount will now go on to the California State Championship in the Open Division against Archbishop Middy from San Jose. The state finals will be hosted at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California at 6 pm. It will also be live-streamed on the NFHS Network through Spectrum. 

The Anchor Staff would like to wish our fellow Sailors good luck as we await the arrival of the State Final award back to campus!