Sacred Heart Prep volleys to sweep in CCS opener

“I could not be more excited,” SHP head coach Ali Magner said. “Bring it on. You want to play the best, and this team deserves to be in this category.”

The Gators play an exciting brand of volleyball, with a fluidity that has allowed them to achieve something this season no other SHP team has done. While the Gators earned their first West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division title since 2012, and their first outright title since 2011, neither of those teams ran the table in league play.

This team did precisely that, rolling to a perfect 10-0 record in WBAL Foothill play, with none of those 10 matches lasting more than four sets.

At the core of SHP’s ballet sensibilities on the court continues to be the team’s three setters — Isabelle Marco, Jillian Amaro and Erika Maas. All three are juniors — as are 10 of the 12 players on the Gators’ roster — and how the trio has figured out a way to make the team go, while each being content and productive players, is something that might tear a lot of other teams apart.

But that certainly ain’t happening to the 2022 Gators.

“It can be hard,” Amaro said. “But I think we do a good job of it because we all are friends first, and that’s important. And I think we do a good job of prioritizing that over anything else, because at the end of the day we’re on this team because we love to play this sport, and because we love each other. And I think that’s what we focus on.”

The bond extends to the entire team. It’s something they get teased about at school, the inseparable nature of the friendships created over three short months since the start of the varsity volleyball season.

“I just think our chemistry is unmatched,” junior outside hitter Mia Radeff said. “We’re all upperclassmen, 10 of us juniors, we’re all just so close. People at school are just like: ‘Why are you guys always together?’ But I just think it comes from, just not on the court, but also off the court. So, I just think we’re lucky that that aspect comes kind of naturally.”

Radeff benefitted from some of SHP’s in-system attacks Saturday. SHP dominated on set plays, totaling 41 team kills to Salinas’ 25. And Radeff’s highlight-reel topper came at the end of Game 2, on a long, arcing crosscourt set from Marco that Radeff powered off the left side to score match point.

Marco has been SHP’s most versatile weapon, but as a natural setter she always has a knack for finding the hot hand. But she’s still the Gators’ most dangerous attacker. Her match-high 11 kills left her shy of her season average of 4.8 kills per set. But the quality of her shots was through the roof.

“She’s definitely a leader on the court,” Amaro said. “I think she’s very loud, I think that’s very important. And I think she does a great job of doing multiple things. She does a great job of being a setter and a hitter, and I think that’s hard, trying to switch positions midgame. She does a great job of that.”

There was a moment in Game 2 where Marco’s skills as both a setter and attacker collided, with a picturesque dump shot to give the Gators a mid-set advantage at 16-12. Her radar for Salinas’ side of the court was so sharp, it was one of the few shots of the night the defensive-savvy Lady Cowboys didn’t have a chance of getting a touch on at all.

“It was an amazing shot,” Amaro said. “I love those. It’s all about seeing the other side of the net.”

Amaro’s court coverage is certainly one of the things that helps free up Marco to do her thing. Amaro has a nose for the ball as well, and her speed and precision to a spot — even if the passing occasionally makes that spot a far cry from its intended destination — allows the junior setter to execute conventional two-handed sets, even if she’s dancing across the court to get there.

“I’ve had coaches that make me do push-ups and burpees if I ever bump-setted a ball,” Amaro said. “So, I was always told: ‘You get there, and you get your hands to it.’ So, now just even getting there in the first place is the easy part. That’s the first step.”

All this, and SHP still had to contend with a Salinas team that came to play, and indeed played quite well. The Cowboys’ net play led to some frantic forever rallies and saw Game 1 open with a point-for-point battle for some early drama.

Once Marco stepped to the service line after a side-out to tie the opening set 6-6, the Gators went on a 5-0 run and led handily for the remainder of Game 1.

“Isabelle is great in every rotation,” Magner said. “That is a special individual, and she carries the team with a tremendous amount of humility. If she’s controlling the first point of the game, that is absolutely a position we want to be in.”

Salinas (25-8) won the blocking battle, totaling six blocks to SHP’s four. But Radeff countered with a clutch block to set the tone early in Game 2, giving the Gators an 8-5 advantage. Salinas kept within 2 as late as 17-15, but SHP never trailed in the set.

In Game 3, Maas entered at setter and kept the Gators humming. This time, it was Radeff who made her mark from the service line, scoring back-to-back aces to give SHP a 22-13 lead. Junior middle hitter Naomi Watson finished off the victory, blasting her fifth kill.

Just another night in the remarkable season for the Gators. Marco finished with 17 assists, Amaro with 13 and Maas with seven.

In this their second consecutive CCS Open Division tournament — getting knocked out in last year’s tourney opener by Menlo — the Gators showed nerves of steel from the outset, Magner said.

“No, I do not think there were nerves,” Magner said. “I actually think we’re finally to a space of complete control and believing in ourselves and one another. So, I definitely did not feel that from the team tonight.”