St. Monica Catholic High School Volleyball Spikers Earning Respect

Capturing the Camino Real League championship is the primary objective for the boys volleyball team this spring. However, the Mariners would like to earn a little respect along the way.

That is precisely what they did on Tuesday night by traveling to North Hollywood and knocking off Campbell Hall in a two-and-a-half hour marathon, 25-21, 17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13. It was the one of the program's biggest wins in three seasons under head coach Javy Martinez.

"That was a huge, huge victory for us," Martinez said. "The bus got a flat on the way home, too, so we didn't get back to campus until 10 0' clock that night."

St. Monica began the week unranked in Division 5, but that could change when the new polls are released because Campbell Hall plays in Division 4; and the Vikings have already beaten four top Division 5 teams in Oakwood, Salesian, Flintridge Prep and Providence.

"We just beat them [Campbell Hall] and they beat all of those teams ranked above us, so it stands to reason that we should be ranked in our division," Martinez said. "We have a really tough schedule as well. No cupcakes. We've faced Brentwood, Crossroads and Windward—all of which play in higher divisions—and we lost to Vistamar, which is ranked No. 2 in our division."

The Mariners are led by their only senior—starting outside hitter Tanner Peach—who has an astounding 41-inch vertical leap and is averaging 15 kills per match. 

"He's so exciting—people love coming just to watch him," Martinez said of Peach, who made First-Team All-League as both a sophomore and junior. "Even parents from visiting teams have come up to me and said, 'The kid wearing the No. 1 jersey is amazing.' "

Starting middle blocker Mal Luaki and starting opposite hitter Thomas Maher each missed the first four matches with grade issues and junior outside hitter Chaz Moynaugh dislocated his thumb in a scrimmage but has played through it.

"It's amazing that he hasn't missed any matches, but he did miss some practice time," Martinez said. "When it first happened, I looked at it and I thought he might be out for the season, but he just popped it back into place."

Division 5 is the smallest in the Southern Section, but tiny St. Monica is out to prove it can compete with larger schools. Moving from the much tougher Del Rey League this season should help the Mariners earn a high playoff seed, provided they play up to their potential.  

"We finally have everyone back and it shows what we can do with our full lineup on the court. Practice is really where you build chemistry and we've had guys out, so we're just beginning to find our rhythm."