Girls Volleyball All-Area: St. Lucy's Deanna Dalton and coach Sean Douglas earn top honors

Also on the first team are outside hitters Katie Kirby of Bonita, Jazmen Russell of Los Altos and Nicole Ellis of San Dimas, with setters Ashley Maxfeldt of Bonita and Jordan Sikyo of Chino Hills.

But this was the year of Dalton, who provided the leadership necessary to help the talented Regents recover from a mid-season slide to win 20 of 23 matches down the stretch and the the Division 2AA title at the expense of Sierra League rival Chino Hills, which had swept them in October.

The Regents, who beat the Huskies in four games, then defeated Mt. Carmel of San Diego and Downey in the CIF State playoffs before losing to Troy in the Southern California Regional finals.

"It was a perfect way to end my high school career and then go off to college," said Dalton, whose postseason honors also include Division 2AA Player of the Year and Sierra League co-Player of the Year with Sikyo. "This is something we set as our goal, and to accomplish it was just an awesome feeling."

Dalton was pretty awesome herself in totaling 339 kills and 360 digs. She also provided a leadership role and helped the Regents to a 32-11 record and the best season in school history. St. Lucy's won nine of their final 10 matches, including the division title victory over Chino Hills, which had swept them during the first round of league.

"(The first match to Chino Hills) was a wake-up call," said Dalton, who will attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point next year. "I think we realized then it wasn't going to be easy, that we had to work harder. We needed to relax, love each other and pull together."

A key for that also was Douglas, who in three seasons with St. Lucy's has led the Regents to two CIF-SS quarterfinal bids and one divisional title. He earned the Division 2AA Coach of the Year honor.

"I've never coached a team that was closer and played together like this one," he said. "All 15 dedicated themselves to win. There was no jealously, no anger. They all got along and just worked hard."

Here's a brief look at the rest of the first team:

Jordyn Sikyo, Chino Hills: The senior setter, who also saw action outside, played a big part in helping the Huskies advance to the CIF-SS playoffs and championship game for the first time in school history.

She was first-team All-CIF Division 2AA and co-Sierra League MVP with Dalton after collecting 262 kills, 555 assists and 80 aces.

Jazmen Russell, Los Altos: The senior has been one of the area's top outside hitters the past three seasons. She helped the Conquerors to a second-place finish in the Hacienda League and the second round of the Division 2A playoffs. She earned first-team All-Division 2A and All-Hacienda League honors.

Alissa Young, St. Lucy's: The senior middle blocker was a big part of the Regents' big five that also featured outside hitter Dalton, opposite Jasmine Warmington, middle blocker Megan Callen and setter Jackie Macy. Young provided production inside with 301 kills and 54 kills. She was first-team All-Division 2AA.

Katie Kirby, Bonita: The senior, who helped the Bearcats to the Hacienda League title and Division 2A quarterfinals, arguably was the top hitter in the area. She had 415 kills with a hitting percentage of close to 50 percent. Kirby also had 197 digs and 48 aces. She was first-team All-Division 2A and Hacienda League MVP.

Nicole Ellis, San Dimas: The senior helped the Saints to a perfect season in the Valle Vista League and the 3A quarterfinals. She was league MVP and first-team All-Division 3A after totaling 199 kills, 18 aces and 170 digs. San Dimas was 22-5 overall.

Ashley Maxfeldt, Bonita: The senior arguably was the top setter in the area the past three years. She had an area-high 801 assists in helping the Bearcats to the Hacienda League title and division quarterfinals. Maxfeldt, who was first-team All-League, also had 126 digs and was on the AVCA Under Armour All-America watch list.

steve.ramirez@sgvn.com

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