The Mary Star High girls volleyball team battled fiercely in a pair of losses to St. Anthony of Long Beach and Calvary Chapel of Downey, so they were more than determined to show what they were made of...

Even in a first-ever crosstown showdown with visiting Port Of Los Angeles, who was out to bounce back from a rough weekend at the Venice Tournament and a stunning four-set home loss to Collin's Family of Huntington Park this past Friday.

On this night, it was the resolve and serving edge of the Stars that would prevail as they defeated the Polar Bears 25-22, 25-16, 16-25, 25-20 in an intersectional match.

Sophomore setter Angela Pisano was the key reason why Mary Star (1-2 overall) was able to get their first victory of the 2014 season by dealing out 21 assists, but it was her ten service aces that deflated POLA (1-3 overall) the most, especially in the first set when POLA led 18-13.

"I was proud of my serving and I felt it was effective tonight," said Pisano, who suffered a demoralizing loss to POLA in girls basketball during her freshman year. 

Once Pisano and the Stars got rolling, POLA seemed almost helpless to stop them. Pisano served nine straight points, including three aces in a row after Mary Star had tied the first set up at 18-18. Fellow sophomore setter Theresa Ibarra was also effective with three aces in the first set. POLA senior setter Kellen McMurry had seven of her team-high 11 kills during the opening set, including three to stake the Polar Bears to the first three points of the match.

The second set was all Mary Star as Pisano would find viable options in senior opposite hitter Evelyn Pronovost, sophomore outside hitters Ally Spillane and Lexi Andrie, along with sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Martinez for kills while POLA had problems with serving, which is normally one of their strong points. 

"I was pleased that I was able to get a good set for them to hit," Pisano said of her teammates. 

POLA would fall behind early, 4-1 in the third set but behind the play of McMurry, senior setter Maria Mohan, senior middle blocker Savana Ramirez and junior middle blocker Makalya Warth, the Polar Bears would bolt to a commanding lead and would hold off Mary Star, avoiding the sweep.

The fourth set would see the Polar Bears jump to another sizable advantage early before Pisano's serves once again took charge. Soon enough, Andrie would serve a couple of aces, Spillane had a momentum-killing block, Pronovost would also catch fire, and the Stars would win going away.

Pronovost had a team-high 12 kills, Spillane had 5 kills, 9 digs, 3 aces, while Andrie had 6 kills and 2 aces. Ibarra chipped in with 7 assists as well for Mary Star. McMurry also had 3 aces to pace POLA, Ramirez finished with seven kills and two blocks; Warth had six kills; and Mohan 14 assists, 2 aces and 2 kills for the Polar Bears, who next host Annenberg of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Mary Star served 19 aces compared to just seven for POLA, and that proved to be a glaring difference.

"It feels great to come together as a team and to conquer our goal," Pisano said. "I love the feeling of us being united and encouraging each other through both the ups and downs."

Mary Star will next host St. Monica of Santa Monica on Thursday in a nonleague match.