Making their 5th appearance in state championship competition, the girls’ volleyball team lost the Division III CIF title game to Cathedral Catholic on Saturday at Concordia University in Irvine, concluding their season with a record of 30-5. The match ended after Cathedral won the last three sets, beating Campo 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21.
Campo secured a spot in the state championships after beating Valley Christian for the NorCal title on November 28. Defensive specialist junior Natalie Meniktas said, “We had high expectations. Every game we put everything out on the court.”
The team faced Cathedral Catholic for the first time since the 2010 state championships. Cathedral has won the state title for 3 of the past 4 years, with their only loss to Campo in 2010.
Despite Cathedral leading in the first set, Campo rallied with numerous kills from outside hitter Annie Shurtz. Shurtz led the match with 18 kills, while freshman Kirsten Sibley contributed 10.
The next 3 sets were close, but Cathedral won their 2nd consecutive title after winning the fourth set 25-21. The championship match also ended Campo’s nine game winning streak. Meniktas said, “We played as hard as we could, with no regrets.”
Setter sophomore Kenzie Brown added that the team was able to keep their spirits up even in the fourth set because they were already “so excited to be playing in the state match.”
