Mater Dei Surprises Sailors in Volleyball

Second-ranked Mater Dei upset the county’s top-ranked team, Newport Harbor, 15-13, 7-15, 15-13, 15-7, in a nonleague girls’ volleyball match Friday night at Newport Harbor High.

Tied at one game each, Newport Harbor came back from a 7-1 deficit in the third game and pulled to within 13-12. But Mater Dei gained the momentum and held on, igniting its easy victory in the fourth game.

“We’ve been looking forward to this match to see where we are,” said Craig Pazanti, coach of the Monarchs, who are ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division I-A. “[The Sailors] are the team to beat. We just got hot tonight and got some breaks.”

Sophomore outside hitter Breegan Mulligan led Mater Dei (9-0) with 19 kills and seven digs, and senior middle blocker Lindsay Pavlik contributed a match-high 18 digs and 15 kills.

Senior middle blocker Krista Dill had 16 kills for Newport Harbor (6-1), which is ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA.