OLP wins SoCal Regionals, will play Saturday for state championship

All season long, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace volleyball team has hovered around the end of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Top 10 poll.

A big win would secure the Pilots’ spot; a loss would knock them back out.

OLP is now the last team standing.

The Pilots played perhaps their cleanest match of the season and moved within one step of winning it all after a 25-21, 25-18, 25-10 sweep of visiting Mission Vista on Tuesday in the CIF State Division 3 Southern California Regional Championship.

OLP will play the winner of Redwood City Sequoia (24-15) and San Francisco Lincoln (36-8) in Saturday’s CIF State Championship match. The showdown begins at 1:30 p.m. from Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

“This is a team that has worked hard to build the depth of this program for the years leading up to this match,” said Pilots coach and alumna Mary-Kate Catton. “This is just really the culmination of their hard work. We would not be here without every single person on our roster.”

The Pilots (21-11) were led by outside hitter Dylan Wilson’s match-high 12 kills. Talia Butler added eight, and outside Charlotte Wickstrand had five and two aces. Wilson’s twin sister, Delilah, also finished with five kills with two stuff blocks.

But make no mistake. OLP’s offense is led by the consistent setting of senior Caitlin Prior. She spread the ball around while keeping the Mission Vista block guessing.

“I’m just so proud of our team,” Prior said. “It’s definitely a team effort. We’ve all done it together. We worked really hard to get here. We have a lot of chemistry on and off the court, and that helps us.”

The Timberwolves (29-12) were led by sophomore Maya Hopkins’ seven kills. No other player had more than two.

“This isn’t something we dreamed of,” Timberwolves coach Miriam Gardner said. “Each game, each tournament, they just got better and better. It’s a testament to them building to this opportunity.”

In a tight first set, the Pilots took their first lead at 15-14 on Delilah Wilson’s kill. That was part of a 7-1 run. After Catton called a timeout up 23-21, Wickstrand put the ball away in serve receive and Butler converted for the 25-21 win.

OLP jumped out to an 8-1 lead to open the second and never looked back. The Pilots’ offense was nearly error-free in a dominant third set.

“We all know these important moments, and we all stepped up,” Dylan Wilson said. “I can say with all my heart with all the seniors here and this entire group has just stepped up and we’ve really come together as a family. We rely on each other as a family.”

The Pilots feature eight seniors, including three transfers: the Wilson twins (Francis Parker) and libero Amanda Guzman (University City).

“We had players that unselfishly took a backseat, who came in and served a very specific role for us to help out the season,” Catton said. “This is a really special, unselfish group, and I am so, so happy that they get the opportunity to play to win the season with a state championship.”