Marymount Sails to Durango Final

The volleyball program at Marymount High has enjoyed great success since Palisadian Cari Klein took the reins in 1998 and her current squad could prove to be one of her best.

The Sailors took second place at the prestigious Durango Fall Classic last weekend in Las Vegas—the fourth time in the last five seasons they have finished in the top three at perhaps the toughest national tournament.

Featuring four Palisades residents—sophomore libero Karys Campos, senior opposite hitter Ryan Gilhooly, junior defensive specialist Declan Eastman and junior middle blocker Jordan Johnson—the varsity team took first in its pool with victories over Las Vegas area power Palo Verde (25-19, 25-17), San Jose Archbishop Mitty (25-23, 18-25, 25-21) and Rancho Cucamonga (25-19, 25-21). Next up was the qualifying round to determine if the Sailors would advance to the championship bracket or settle for the silver bracket instead. They clinched a spot in the former with a 25-19, 25-19 sweep of San Diego Cathedral Catholic.

In the quarterfinals, Marymount faced Bay League frontrunner Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach and, in a tense struggle, Klein’s team avenged a four-set loss to the Mustangs back on August 22 with a 30-28, 21-25, 25-18 triumph. In the semifinals, the Sailors avenged an Aug. 31 loss to Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio, TX with a 20-25, 25-19, 25-23 win.

The finals pitted Marymount against defending champion Mater Dei of Santa Ana and, in one of the best championship matches in the tournament’s storied history, the Monarchs prevailed, 25-18, 24-26, 28-26—snapping Marymount’s nine-match winning streak. Three Sailors earned All-Tournament honors, each of them NCAA Division I commits: junior outside hitter Sammy Destler (Washington), junior middle blocker Elle Vandeweghe (SMU) and junior setter Olivia Penske (Georgetown).

It marked a big improvement over last year’s showing when Marymount took third in the bronze division (19th overall) at Durango on its way to finishing 29-12 overall and 7-3 in Mission League play. The Sailors are ranked in the top five in California and hosted Sierra Canyon, which was fifth in Las Vegas, in the first of two league showdowns Tuesday.

Marymount has won Durango twice, defeating Long Beach Wilson in the finals in 2003 and ousting Mater Dei in the finals three years ago en route to a perfect 35-0 campaign, after which the Sailors were declared national champions. That team featured St. Matthew’s alum Elia Rubin (now a junior outside hitter at Stanford) and Corpus Christi alum Kerry Keefe (now a junior outside hitter at Duke).    

Marymount was the runner-up at Durango in 2022 (losing to Cathedral Catholic in the finals) and was third in 2011 and 2019. The tournament debuted in 1995 and Assumption  of Louisville, KY holds the record for most titles (six), followed by Mater Dei (five) and Archbishop Mitty (four).