Palos Verdes finishes, wins first CIF California high school girls volleyball title; Immanuel takes D5 crown

The Sea Kings wipe out two painful memories to take Division 1 crown at Santiago Canyon College, the first of six championship matches

The Palos Verdes girls volleyball team after winning the CIF State Division 1 championship in a three-game sweep over Foothill at Santiago Canyon College / Courtesy photo: Tracy McDonnald

ORANGE, CALIFORNIA — After painful state finals losses the last two years, the girls high school volleyball team Palos Verdes was determined to achieve a different result in Friday night’s CIF State Division I championship match.

At Santiago Canyon College in Orange, the Sea Kings roared out of the gate with a fierce attack, superb blocking, aggressive serving and smooth serve receive to roll past Foothill-Pleasanton 25-11, 25-14, 25-23.

“Not everyone knows what’s it’s like to lose two years in a row,” PV setter Mallory LaBreche said. “We worked so hard. We were coming for revenge.”

The Sea Kings (27-9) were led by 6-foot-4 Stanford-bound Kaci Demaria with 24 kills and a .346 attack percentage and UCLA Beach commit Mallory LaBreche with 28 assists and nine kills. LSU Beach-bound twin sister Molly LaBreche led the defense with 12 digs.

FINAL 🏐: Palos Verdes sweeps Santa Margarita 25-21, 25-18, 25-13 with the final kill from Olivia Hirsch @breezepreps

Kaci Demaria led everyone with 23 kills and a pair of aces to secure the Sea Kings’ third consecutive @CIFState Division I SoCal Regional title. pic.twitter.com/A6SqdrNkrJ

— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) November 20, 2024

Foothill (30-11) was paced by Kaitlyn Vogel with eight kills and Kaycie Burdick and Lulu Hoenninger with seven apiece.

“We came out super strong,” Palos Verdes coach Lacey Minzlaff said. “Our serving was tough and our serve receive was great. The last few games we’ve been playing great. Against Huntington Beach and Santa Margarita, I thought we were fantastic.”

Those last two SoCal Division I sweeps were an omen of the Sea Kings’ performance in the title contest. After two sets, the Sea Kings were hitting .305 with 16 blocks while Foothill’s attack percentage was -.042 with two blocks.

“We were firing on all cylinders,” Demaria said.

Falcons coach Dusty Collins mixed in different players and modified his offense in the third set. Hoenninger, Sophia Burdick and Kaycie Burdick found success for Foothill in a dead-even set, but Palos Verdes pulled away late to finish off the sweep.

For Foothill, the season was a success nonetheless. The Falcons, hit hard by graduation, lost early to rivals Carondelet-Concord and San Ramon Valley-Danville.

However, they improved during the year and knocked off both to win the East Bay Athletic League title. Additionally, after two losses to James Logan-Union City, in the do-or-die NorCal playoff contest, they shocked the Colts with a reverse sweep on the road.

“The bottom line is the fact we got to this point.” Collins said. “That is the biggest thing I want them to take away.”

DIVISION V: Immanuel d. Bell Gardens 3-0

The Eagles (25-21) won the school’s third state title, but first since 2001, by sweeping the Lancers 25-17, 25-11, 25-15. Addison Semper and Spencer Horn each belted eight kills for the winners. Immanual recorded 13 blocks in shutting down Bell Gardens, which hit just -.121 with 27 errors versus 16 kills on 91 attacks.

“I am super proud of the girls and how they showed up,” Immanuel coach Alyssa DenHartog said. “We played together, played defense, served tough and offensively took big swings.”