It’s always a great thing to see history repeat itself… especially if you are Mary Star High girls volleyball.

Just last season, the Stars shared the Santa Fe League championship with St. Genevieve of Panorama City by winning a stellar four-set road match to force a tie for first place, then 364 days ago, Mary Star clinched the league title share by sweeping St. Mary’s Academy of Inglewood.

On Tuesday, the host Stars would deliver a repeat performance with a convincing 25-12, 25-17, 25-23 victory over St. Genevieve to clinch a second straight Santa Fe League co-championship with the Valiants, also earning their redemption from an earlier 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 defeat in the first meeting on October 15 at St. Genevieve.

The motives for wanting to return the favor to the Valiants was clear.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we had what it took to beat them. We just had to focus,” Mary Star junior outside hitter Ally Spillane said. “It took an overall team effort to minimize mistakes and execute as we know we are capable of for the win.”

Mary Star (16-11 overall, 9-1 league) had the desire, heart and skill to take over the rematch and it was evident at the very start of the match, thanks to junior setter Angela Pisano, as she served nine straight points after an opening kill by Spillane got things going for a stunning 10-0 lead. The Stars would cruise the rest of the way thanks to the brilliant play of Spillane, junior opposite hitter Ticela Molio’o and junior middle blocker Gianna Fletcher, who delivered two sparkling blocks in a row to thwart St. Genevieve.

“Angela’s serving run definitely set the tone for the rest of the match,” Mary Star junior outside hitter Lexi Andrie said. “It really motivated us to keep the lead and continue playing hard.”

Not much really unnverves Pisano in these kind of situations, but as a three-year veteran, she knew to keep her cool and simply do what came natural.

“I knew I had to focus and keep my serves in,” Pisano said. “I’m glad I contributed to the team and help us gain the early momentum so we can be successful.”

In the second set, it was time for Molio’o to take center stage.

Increasing her worth even more due to the loss of junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Martinez to an ankle injury that sidelined her for the rest of the regular season, Molio’o would serve 11 straight points to help the Stars build a lead of 18-7, then they would hold off a spirited charge by St. Genevieve (17-8-1, 9-1) to take a 2-0 lead into the decisive third set.

Was there any motivation for Molio’o at all for how she played in the second set?

“I owe those points to coach (Tyler) Jaynes for his help every practice with making my serve better and better each day,” said Molio’o, who had three aces. “And to (junior backup setter) Theresa (Ibarra) for her advice on who to serve to. I couldn’t have got those points without them.”

The third set provided the most drama and was just as tense as the second set of the first meeting three weeks ago, but this time, it was the Stars who were able to finish.

St. Genevieve would grab its first and only lead of the night at 6-5 in the third set, but the Stars battled back, building a lead as big as 21-15 but couldn't quite finish the deal due to the tenacity of the Valiants and a couple of uncharacteristic Mary Star miscues. The Stars were poised to polish off the sweep with a 23-20 lead but the Valiants tied up the score at 23.

An attack error gave Mary Star a 24-23 lead, and fittingly after a long rally, it would be Molio’o that would seal the victory, and the school’s 18th girls volleyball league championship with a booming kill off Pisano’s great back-set pass for her 24th assist of the match.

“It was a great opportunity to show my gratitude for everyone who showed up to support us, and for my team who has worked so hard,” Molio’o said.

Spillane led Mary Star with 16 kills and three aces, Pisano chipped in with five aces, while Molio’o had five kills, and Andrie had five kills and 14 digs. Freshman libero Jena Denardo had 18 digs, and Ibarra served up two aces off the bench for the Stars, who firmly believed and had confidence in themselves that they could bring the league title, or at least another share of it, home again.

“This feels amazing and breathtaking,” Pisano said with joy. “All our hard work paid off and I’m truly grateful to be a part of an incredible team.”

Molio’o added a much more heartfelt statement to the harmony of Mary Star’s girls volleyball team that pretty much summed up how special this night was for them.

“Tonight showed how much we love volleyball and how much we love each other as a team,” Molio’o said. “We all lift each other up when we’re down and are each other’s number one supporter which was really key tonight.”

(Note: Photo by Terry Denardo)