Sea Hawks upset state champions Mater Dei, set up rematch 

Sea Hawks celebrate Southern Section Division 1 championships at Cerritos College on Saturday. Photos

 

“We’ve got the players,”  Redondo Union High girls volleyball coach Tommy Chaffins said going into last Saturday’s match against Santa Ana’s Mater Dei, at Cerritos College. Mater Dei was the 2017, 2018 open division State champions. At stake was the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championships

He was right. The Sea Hawks won the first two sets 25-10 and 26-16. They stumbled in the third set, losing 16-25. But they stuck to Chaffin’s “next play focus” strategy to win the decisive fourth set 25-21.

On Saturday, the two teams will meet again at Redondo, in the first round of the Open Division State Championships. It will be their third matchup this year.

In September, at home against Mater Dei,  Redondo lost the first two sets and were behind 2-9 in the third set. Then they put their “next play focus” to the test and won the next three sets to win the match. The two teams are seeded second and third, respectively, behind Torrey Pines.

U.S. Junior National Team player Kami Miner leads the attack against Mater Dei.

 

Maya Harvey came off the bench to steady the Sea Hawks in the fourth and decisive set.

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