Athenas Volleyball 2022 Season In Review
7TH CONSECUTIVE SCIAC CHAMPIONSHIP!
2ND CONSECUTIVE PERFECT 16-0 CONFERENCE RECORD!
5TH CONSECUTIVE SCIAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP!
9TH CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH!
Once again, we can say it was in many ways, one of the best seasons ever for Athenas volleyball. The accolades in the header of this newsletter paint the broad-brush picture of where the team has come from and the path it continues to pave going forward.
The season started with a sweep of the four matches at the Pacific Coast Classic and took off from there. The following weekend saw three wins at the East-West Showdown hosted by Emory University. Then a sweep of the four matches at the tournament hosted by Cal Lutheran. These 10 wins were all over teams ranked nationally, five of whom were in the top ten.
So, it should come as no surprise to you that we report that the Athenas were ranked number one in the country for most of the season. A ranking that was supported by 30 consecutive wins and a set record of 90-4 in that streak. CMS once again ran the conference and finished 16-0 for the second year in a row to win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. The Athenas lost only one set in conference play. CMS now has won 43 straight SCIAC matches dating back to the 2019 season.
At 30-1 on the season, the team achieved the third-ever 30-win mark in its history. Its 97 percent winning percentage is the highest ever in CMS history. And both the 30-match win streak and 37-set win streak are the most in Athenas history. Indeed, another year of firsts for the volleyball program.
All of this says a lot about a team that had over half of its roster being comprised of first and second-year players. There were five seniors and four juniors representing the upper class, but keep in mind, the juniors were only in their second year of college experience, as they lost their frosh year to the pandemic hiatus. The sophomore count was eight and the newcomers numbered three. The youth of the team both continues to lead the way but also continues to grow. As we have written before, if the team was supposed to show its inexperience, then someone forgot to tell the players. For when the dust settled, these Athenas walked away with the team's seventh straight SCIAC title, fifth straight conference tournament championship, and its ninth straight NCAA tournament berth.
Jackie Jones (SR, CMC, Carlsbad) alternated starting at the outside and brought with her the experience she had gained from her first three years.
Spencer Hagenbuch (SR, CMC, Salinas) once again maintained her position as one of the team's two setters in the 6-2 offense playing in all but one match. Summer Ellis (SR, CMC, Temecula) returned for her third year at the right side rotating in and out with the change in setters.
Izzy Sakoda (SR, CMC, Honolulu, HI) celebrated her senior year with the squad by moving into a starting position. Sonia Bliss (SR, HMC, Claremont) was back for her third campaign with the Athenas and continued her contributions as part of the outside hitter attack for the CMS offense.
Jenna Holmes (JR, CMC, Rancho Cucamonga) played every rotation and led the team in kills from the outside while also having the second most digs. It is an understatement to say she continued to raise her game to a higher level. Georgia McGovern (JR, CMC, Oxford, ENG) also showed her continued growth and proficiency as the starting setter and played in every match in the 6-2 offense. McGovern and Hagenbuch had only 9 ball handling errors between them for the entire season.
Dani Beder (JR, CMC, Newport Beach) played a dual role as a middle blocker and right-side hitter and Maxine Matheson-Lieber (JR, CMC, Portland, OR) was another outside hitter – both of whom added depth to the CMS offensive attack.
Audrey Sawyer (SO, CMC, San Diego) and Kelsey Polhemus (SO, CMC, San Francisco) earned starting spots at the middle blocker position and teamed up for a dynamic one-two punch both offensively and defensively for the Athenas. Their attack percentage was above .300 all season.
Brenna Bell (SO, CMC, Murrieta) rotated onto the right side as part of the 6-2 punch and was a team leader in kills from the opposite attack hitting at .400. Lauren Parker (SO, HMC, Sammamish, WA) was another middle blocker who supplemented the solid middle part of the court that CMS dominated.
Dede Carranza (SO, CMC, Gardena), who earned a starting spot last year as the libero, started and played every match in that position to lead the CMS defense. Her team-leading digs say plenty of her command of the defensive unit. Isabel Yau-Weeks (SO, CMC, Oakland) was first on as the defensive specialist when an outside hitter moved to the back row.
Izze Stolzoff (SO, SCR, Bellingham, WA) was the team's third setter and provided strong back-up throughout the season. Ashley Murashige (SO, SCR, Honolulu, HI) provided additional depth as both Libero and defensive specialist – another strong position for the Athenas.
Jhila Ferdows (FY, CMC, Woodside) joined the Athenas as another strong defensive specialist and saw action in the back row both for specific serving situations and for added defense. Shelby McIlroy (FY, CMC, Alisa Viejo) is in line as a future setter in the potent CMS 6-2 offense that outscored opponents by an average of 25-17. Brooke McKee (FY, CMC, Upland) saw action in her debut season as an effective outside hitter coming off the deep Athenas bench.
The Pacific Coast Classic, co-hosted by CMS at the Robert Pavilion – the premier Division III arena – provided the starting ground for the 2021 season. There were wins over nationally ranked UC Santa Cruz, Babson, NYU, and Millikin,
At Emory University in Atlanta for the East-West Showdown, the Athenas marched on with wins over top ten Johns Hopkins, Trinity, and host Emory. The final non-conference matches, played at Cal Lutheran, brought another win over still nationally ranked UC Santa Cruz and victories over ranked Endicott and Colorado College.
With these ten wins under their belt, the Athenas then had to prepare for the SCIAC schedule. Being in a conference where the schools are so closely located, each team knows each other's strengths and weaknesses and on any given night any upset can occur, The Athenas knew the challenge and got only better as the season progressed.
The first ten matches brought ten three-set sweeps and there were 15 sweeps on the team's way to a perfect 16-0 conference season. That is the second straight year for CMS to sweep the SCIAC schedule. Only one other conference team has gone 16-0 in SCIAC play but the Athenas now are the only conference team that has been a perfect 16-0 twice.
Despite dropping its only set in conference play, CMS continued its remarkable run and wrapped up its seventh consecutive SCIAC title. This conference championship also guaranteed the Athenas the top seed in the postseason conference tournament and the host spot in one of the two semi-final matches. CMS found itself pitted against number four seed La Verne, a familiar foe to the Athenas in the conference tournament.
The Leopards battled CMS in the first set with the Athenas prevailing 25-23. After that, CMS swept sets two and three to head to the conference tournament finals. This time facing Pomona-Pitzer for the first time in a final match-up. The Athenas swept the three sets to capture the match and its fifth consecutive SCIAC tournament championship. This also gave an automatic berth into the NCAA championships – the ninth straight year the Athenas have made that trek.
This year, though, was different as CMS hosted the regional tournament. The opening night opponent was a first-time opponent in Fontbonne College from Missouri. CMS advanced to the round of 32 once again with another three-set win. In the semifinal match, the Athenas won the first two sets against University of Texas, Dallas only to be down 20-11 in the third set. An incredible rally brought CMS all the way back for an exciting 29-27 win and a return to the regional finals.
In what turned out to be the most difficult match of the season for many reasons that can be understood, the Athenas fell for the first and only time in 2022 – in a heart-breaking five-set loss to eventual national runner-up Trinity. CMS came back time and time again in the match to win the fourth set to force the match to five sets and then coming back from being down 12-14 to tie the match at 14-14 before the end came 14-16.
CMS finished ranked fifth nationally in the final coaches' poll for 2022.
After the SCIAC season ended, the coaches voted for the all-conference teams. Jenna Holmes, Dede Carranza, Brenna Bell, Georgia McGovern and Audrey Sawyer were named to the first team All-SCIAC while Summer Ellis found herself on the second team. In addition, Holmes was named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year and Carranza was named SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year. And Kurt Vlasich and his coaching staff were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Following the all-conference selections, came the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West region team. Echoing the sentiments of the coaches in the All-SCIAC selections, Jenna Holmes, Brenna Bell, Dede Carranza, Georgia McGovern, and Audrey Sawyer were name first team All-West Region. Summer Ellis received honorable mention recognition. In addition, Jenna Holmes was named AVCA West Region Player of the Year. The final award for the West Region was that Kurt Vlasich was named West Region Coach of the Year.
The final AVCA announcements came at the Elite Eight championships – namely the All- American team selections. Jenna Holmes and Brenna Bell were named first-team All-America while Georgia McGovern received second-team All-America honors. All-America honorable mention recognition went to Dede Carranza and Audrey Sawyer.
The final announcement to come from the AVCA was that Jenna Holmes capped off her incredible season by being selected National Player of the Year! She is the first Athenas volleyball player to receive this honor.
Looking forward to 2023 one sees continued bright lights ahead for Athenas volleyball. Not only will there be the usual tournaments and matches against nationally ranked teams, the team will be pursuing another SCIAC championship and another trip to the NCAA national tournament. What makes 2023 even more exciting is that CMS will be hosting the 2023 NCAA national championship Elite Eight tournament. The first time the national championship will be decided on the West Coast in over 20 years.
As always, we thank you for your support of CMS Volleyball. Please watch for new developments on the Athenas Volleyball webpage. In addition, the website has archives of great CMS Athenas volleyball memories.
Written by Michael Haas (CMC '79)