On December 1 and 2, some of the top high school volleyball players in the country — including future NCAA Division I stars and perhaps even some potential national team talent — gathered at Santiago Canyon College for the California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) state championships in Divisions 1-5 and Open.

Here are the highlights of those title matches. 

Open Division

Archbishop Mitty def. Mater Dei 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 27-25)

In the Open Division final, Archbishop Mitty of San Jose secured its sixth CIF state title in a row with a sweep of Mater Dei. Senior outside hitters Nicole Liddle and Julia Devine provided a one-two punch for the Monarchs of the north, with 16 and 10 kills, respectively. 

Four block assists from Moriah Scott helped Mitty out-block Mater Dei eight to two. 

Junior outside hitter Natalie Berty led the Monarchs of the south with 11 kills, but she had six errors to hit .161. 

Watch the CIF Open Division state championship match between Archbishop Mitty and Mater Dei.

Division 1

Santa Margarita def. James Logan 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-13)

The Eagles of Santa Margarita capped a stellar season in which they went 34-9 with a defeat of James Logan in the Division I state championship match. Sacred Heart commit Sarah Ciszek was dominant for Santa Margarita as she has been all season, leading the match with 15 kills and hitting .394. 

Five-foot-six senior outside hitter Tatiana Toleafoa led James Logan with 13 kills, but with 11 errors her hitting percentage was only .036. 

Watch the CIF Division I state championship match between Santa Margarita and James Logan.

Division 2

Sierra Canyon def. Sacred Heart Prep 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-22)

Sierra Canyon’s sweep of Sacred Heart Prep in the Division 2 final marked the first-ever state title for the Trailblazers. The ultra-talented Sierra Canyon squad was led by junior Michigan recruit May Pertofsky with 19 kills and sophomore Jaylen Jordan — the daughter of beach volleyball Olympian Jenny Johnson-Jordan — with 11 kills.

Sacred Heart Prep put the pressure on Sierra Canyon in the second set, holding a significant lead before UC Santa Barbara-committed libero Zoe Fleck went on a long serving run to help close the gap and ultimately lead Sierra Canyon to stifling the Sacred Heart Prep attempt to steal a set.

Watch the CIF Division II state championship match between Sierra Canyon and Sacred Heart Prep.

Division 3

Point Loma def. Lincoln 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 27-25)

Two NCAA beach volleyball commits lifted Point Loma of San Diego to a sweep of Abraham Lincoln of San Francisco in the Division 3 championship match. The Pointers got redemption, winning their first state volleyball after losing to Atherton Menlo School in the Division 4 final a year ago. 

In her final indoor volleyball match before joining the Stanford beach volleyball program, Charlie Ekstrom had 17 kills hitting over .320. LSU beach volleyball commit Hailey Brockett and UNC Wilmington-bound Rebecca Nuanez also played big roles in the championship-match sweep.

Division 4

Presentation def. Rancho Bernardo 3-2 (14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 15-13)

In what was the closest of the six state championship matches, NorCal Division 4 champion Presentation launched an incredible comeback from down 2-0 to defeat Rancho Bernardo in five sets. 

Presentation went 0-10 in its league, which features Open champion Archbishop Mitty, but had a great postseason, winning the CIF Central Coast Section Division 2 title and winning four matches in the Division 4 state tournament on its way to the championship match.

Senior middle blocker KT LeBaron, who coach Dustin Moore described as the team’s emotional leader, had 17 kills hitting .548 in addition to a solo block and five block assists to facilitate the Presentation comeback.

Watch the CIF Division IV state championship match between Presentation and Rancho Bernardo.

Division 5

Maranatha Christian def. San Marin 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20)

With 17 kills from sophomore outside hitter Amy Buffini and 31 assists from her twin sister Alysha Buffini, Maranatha Christian pulled off a dominant sweep of San Marin in the CIF Division 5 state championship match. 

As a team, Maranatha Christian hit .258 to San Marin’s .173, in addition to serving 16 aces to San Marin’s two.

Senior opposite Emily O’Brien led San Marin with six kills, hitting .400.

Watch the CIF Division V state championship match between Maranatha Christian and San Marin.