Now that the Wildcats’ regular-season has officially come to an end, a 15-14-2 overall record and a loss in the CIF Southern Section Playoff Tournament is the result of yet another campaign from John Van Deventer’s squad.
The overall theme of this season was inconsistency, as the team struggled to generate any level of strong momentum throughout. Following an initial 5-3 record in which they found an early three-game win streak, the team responded with a five-game winless streak. The Wildcats were 6-7-2 before entering Rio Hondo league play.
During those 10 league games, Monrovia split five wins compared to five loses, winning 17 sets and losing 19. Although not the strongest level of success, the team was asked to compete against some formidable interleague opponents with South Pasadena going a perfect 10-0 in league play along with La Cañada who went, respectively, 8-2.
Nevertheless, their 15 season wins were enough to be placed in the fourth quadrant of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Girls Volleyball Tournament Division 3. Unfortunately, they were asked to defeat the Polytechnic Panthers, who were 22-1 throughout their season, during the first round. A disheartening 3-0 sweep to the Panthers ultimately ended the Wildcats season, but to say the entire campaign was a disappointment would be invalid.
The highlight of the Wildcats season was the play of senior captain Amber Shaw. Shaw, who has been with the team since her freshman year, had a phenomenal attacking year finishing 2019 with 239 kills, over 100 more than the next highest on the team. Along with this, the duo of juniors Alyssa Corrazelli and Siena Andrews collectively earned 285 kills on the season.
As for defense, junior libero Juliana Castaneda was the star. Her digging numbers were absolutely astonishing, collecting a whopping total of 655 which equates to 21.1 digs per match. Castaneda has also solidified herself as one of the best servers on her squad, leading the Wildcats with 72 aces.
Sophomore setter Jessica Mitchell was also incredibly impressive this season, as she earned 747 assists by the end of the season during those 97 sets played.
Although Shaw will be graduating following this academic year, next year will see several consistent starters become seniors. With this being said, there will certainly be motivation from the Wildcats in 2020 to produce a strong season and win the Rio Hondo League Championship.
