The 2015 San Pedro Prep Girls Volleyball season saw a lot of youth mixed in with experience which led to some spectacular moments in the second-year realm of respective coaches in San Pedro's Chris Ceballos, Mary Star's Tyler Jaynes and Port Of Los Angeles' Rowel Ramirez.

San Pedro would once again garner a victory over Narbonne of Harbor City in the Marine League, this time knocking off the Gauchos in five sets, and also was the only team in league to take a set away from eventual league champion and CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 runner-up Carson, finishing in a second-place tie with Narbonne.

POLA was denied a third straight Crosstown League championship by Foshay Learning Center as their youth caught up with them in both losses to the Wolverines, and Mary Star would repeat with a second straight share of the Santa Fe League championship with a rousing sweep at the end of the year of fellow co-champion St. Genevieve of Panorama City, and was the only team to win a playoff game, advancing to the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A playoffs.

2016 shapes up to be another exciting year, especially in the mid-part of the season when San Pedro travels to Mary Star for their first-ever meeting in girls volleyball on October 5 at 6 pm. All three teams return more than half of their roster of last year, so let's have a look at all of them.

MARY STAR (17-12 overall, 9-1 in Santa Fe League in 2015) - Jaynes and the Stars should feel pretty confident for various reasons, most specifically the entire roster returns for one final run, including ten seniors.

Another reason is that the Stars enter as the prohibitive favorite for a third straight Santa Fe League crown, becoming even more pronounced that St. Genevieve was moved into the Camino Real League, and Cantwell Sacred-Heart of Montebello, who went 0-8 in that league, joins the Stars, St. Bernard, St. Mary's Academy, Bell-Jeff and St. Pius X/St.Matthias, the other four holdovers that Mary Star swept in three every time.

Senior outside hitter Ally Spillane, the reigning two-time SPNP Player Of The Year, is one of seven returning All-SFL selections, and will no doubt be a focal point of the Stars. However, fellow senior outside hitters Lexi Andrie and Ticela Molio'o, along with senior middle blockers Kaitlyn Martinez and Gianna Fletcher are more than capable.

All-Santa Fe League senior setter Angela Pisano, along with Spillane, Martinez and Andrie, will be in their fourth and final year.

Other players to keep an eye out for includes All-SFL sophomore libero Jena Denardo, senior backup setter Theresa Ibarra and senior middle blocker Kaillie Silva, as Mary Star has key nonleague matches against St. Anthony, POLA, St. Genevieve and El Segundo before entering league play on September 22.

Mary Star is a designated Division 8 team in the new CIF-Southern Section playoff formats.

SAN PEDRO (13-11 overall, 9-3 in Marine League in 2015) - With only two seniors on this year's team, including three-time All-Marine League and four-year senior S/OH Katie Bentovoja being one of them, the Pirates are young and hungry as they begin another quest to capture their first Marine League championship since 2009, a league that has since seen Carson or Narbonne take turns in winning outright or sharing the title.

Bentovoja, junior libero Alison Lyons and sophomore outside hitter Sara Peterson are All-ML returning players that Ceballos will rely on the most in the majority of San Pedro's matches.

The Pirates, who already exacted revenge from last year's CIF-LACS Division 1 first round loss to Hamilton of Los Angeles by sweeping the visiting Yankees on August 31, will also get significant roles from the likes of junior middle blocker Rebecca Alvarenga, junior outside hitters Selene Ramirez, Serena McGillivray and Alison Mernin and sophomore outside hitter Hadley Grooms,

Newcomers in sophomore middle blocker Lauren Sutrin and freshman outside hitter Georgie Smith provides more height and talent to boot for San Pedro, who starts Marine League early on Thursday at Gardena. On September 24, the Pirates will also host their first-ever all-day tournament, which is planned to be with 16 schools.

POLA (9-17 overall, 8-2 in Crosstown League in 2015) - Too many growing pains for last year's Polar Bears eventually led to Foshay taking advantage in capturing the Crosstown League crown, but Ramirez has a more experienced team with all but two players returning, plus new additions from their league title-winning junior varsity team, to bolster POLA.

Senior outside hitters and co-captains Mariam Moreno and Anissa Navarro, along with junior middle blocker Areelle Navarro, junior libero Sachi Verner, and senior outside hitter Dominique Wade will be the five main players to watch for POLA this season in their quest to capture a fourth league title in five years, and make another trip to the CIF-LACS D-4 playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Rancho Dominguez Prep.

Sophomore defensive specialist Ivy Santamaria is the only other player with varsity experience, but junior outside hitter Gesenia Rendon, sophomore setter Harmony Sapitanan, senior middle blocker Valerie Hernandez and junior defensive specialist Beverly Aranda from the 2015 Crosstown League JV champions adds more depth to the table.

Also, junior Orianna Pele will finally get her chance after missing all of last year due to a late transfer.

POLA will begin Crosstown League play on September 12 against Bright Star at Peck Park and will take on host crosstown neighbor Mary Star on Thursday at 5 pm.

TOP FIVE MATCHES TO WATCH IN SAN PEDRO

Port Of Los Angeles at Mary Star (September 8; 5 pm)

Carson at San Pedro (September 15; 5 pm)

Narbonne at San Pedro (September 29; 5 pm)

San Pedro at Mary Star (October 5; 6 pm)

Foshay Learning Center at Port Of Los Angeles (October 24; 4 pm)