The following is from The San Diego Union-Tribune article, “Cathedral Catholic earns top seed in Open Division at state girls volleyball tournament.”

It was two years ago when Cathedral Catholic’s girls volleyball team went undefeated and was crowned MaxPrep National Champions.

Seemingly mythical runs like that come rarely, but Juliana Conn wonders if her 2024 Dons squad may have some of that magic in them as well.

Fresh off Saturday’s sweep of rival Torrey Pines, Cathedral Catholic earned the No. 1 seed in the Open Division of the State Tournament, which starts this week for 18 San Diego area teams.

Coming in at 42-3 and ranked 14th nationally, the Dons play Wednesday at 6 p.m. at home against Los Alamitos (32-8).

The six-team Southern California regional bracket includes six teams ranked in the top 23 teams in the nation. Seventh seed Torrey Pines (28-8) opens at Mater Dei (34-4), the No. 2 team in the nation.

“Getting to State in the Open division is always special in itself but seeing some kids stepping up into big roles this season has been super sweet,” said Conn, whose squad has won four straight San Diego Open Division titles. “Following the footsteps of some really great squads like my undefeated 2022 team, this group has made a name for themselves as well as keeping Cathedral at the elite level once again.”

The Southern California regionals are Nov. 19 with the State Championships on Nov. 22 and 23  at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

It will be a tough road for all local teams, and one that Conn knows will be earned at every stop.

“Being a top seed for State is great by giving us a home court advantage,” she said. “But we know it really doesn’t mean much as we know all the top eight teams are amazing in different ways and any could go all the way in the State run.”