All-East County team: Triplett tops volley

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: December 7, 2022

Madison Triplett, the 2022 East County girls volleyball player of the year

2022 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer

El Capitan’s Madison Triplett, the 2022 East County Girls Volleyball Player of the Year

LAKESIDE – When it comes down to two players to select from by league coaches to decide the player of the year in most any sport, there are traditionally two factions: one group leans towards a senior while the others nod toward the top player, no matter the student-athlete’s grade.

One season removed from finishing as the runner-up for the player of the year award in the Grossmont Hills League, there was no controversy in 2022 after El Capitan junior Madison Triplett not claimed the top prize in the Grossmont Hills League, she was also tabbed the East County player of the year by East County Sports.com.

Triplett, an early commit to play her college ball at UC Santa Barbara, became the first Grossmont Conference player to collect more than 1,000 kills in a career — and she has another season remaining!

On the final day of the regular season, Triplett,a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, reached the milestone on her final spike in a make-up match with Santana at El Cap’s Foster Gymnasium. The five-time undefeated league champion Vaqueros then went on an extended postseason run, reaching the CIF San Diego Section semifinals, then advancing to the second round of the CIF state tournament, upsetting powerful Sherman Oaks-Oaks Christian on the road before falling at Saugus in the South Regional.

Those extra matches allowed Triplett to add 91 additional kills to her resume, also giving her 552 kills for the season — a fairly rare accomplishment since the sport switched to the point-per-play scoring system to shorten the duration of matches. In fact, it’s the fourth-highest single-season total in CIFSDS history.

Katie Wilkins-Kimmich

A repeat performance of 591 kills would allow Triplett to also set a section record for career kills, topping the mark of 1,654, set by McKenna Hollingsworth of Tri-City Christian (2010-13)

Hollingsworth went on to play collegiate volleyball for Oregon State.

The East County career record is 1,482 kills by Christian’s Katie Wilkins (1996-99), who later posted a Hall of Fame career for Pepperdine, then the U.S. National Team before playing pro ball in Puerto Rico.

2022 All-East County
Girls Volleyball Team

Player of the Year: Madison Triplett. El Capitan
Best Spiker: Madison Triplett, El Capitan
Best Opposite: Temukisa ‘Kisa’ Sagiao, Helix
Best Blocker: Deanna Guerrero, Steele Canyon
Best Setter: Bella Barrios, Helix
Best Libero: Marha Rivas, El Cajon Valley
Unsung Hero: Hannah MGrath (11)El Capitan

First Team
Madison Triplett OH 11 El Capitan
Temukisa “Kisa” Sagiao RS 11 Helix
Deanna Guerro MB 10 Steele Canyon
-Ella Giordano MB 12 Helix
Madelyn Wutzke OH 10 El Capitan
Juliana VanOmmering OH 12 Foothills Christian
Bella Barrios Set 11 Helix

Second Team
Julia Marinesi OH 10 Christian
Delaney Fry Util 11 Granite Hills
Martha Rivas Lib 12 El Cajon Valley
Mallory Guinn Lib 12 West Hills
Madison Bizjak Lib 12 Granite Hills
Isabel Curtin Lib 12 Grossmont
Faith Manis 12 OH Steele Canyon

Third Team
Jessie Vincent! Lib 11 Christian
Auvia Washington OH xx Grossmont
Daisy Tofili OH 11 Foothills Christian
Megan Pennell MB 12 Ruver Valley
Alexa Amaya Util 11 Valhalla
Dakota RozeboomOH 12 West Hills
Analiese Gagliano DS 12 Patrick Henry

Other Awards

With Triplett the runaway leader for Player of the Year and Best Spiker awards, several other individuals deserved recognition for their efforts in the ’22 campaign.

The top right-side hitter was Kisa Sagiano of Helix, who led the Highlanders to an incredible run over the second half of the season. Not only did the Scotties take 15-of-16 matches before finally falling in the CIF State Championship in the Division II South Final, they rallied back from a poor start to share second place in the Grossmont Hills League, then took the CIF San Diego Section Division II title.

Sagiano’s excellence was aided by Helix teammate Bella Barrios, the Best Setter honoree. One of the few ball-handlers who needed to set to all ends of the net, Barrios kept opponents off-stride in the second half of the season during the team’s major turnabout from a sub-.500 program and into a champion.

Deanna Guerrero of Steele Canyon could flourish into one of the section’s generational standouts. Not only a Top Blocker Award winner, Guerrero is ranked among the very top wrestlers in her weight class in the state, and excels in many other sports.

For Best Libero, almost every club placed their player into nomination for all-league honors. But the one that did the most with the least around her was El Cajon Valley senior Martha Rivas. The senior led the Braves to a three-way share of the Grossmont Valley League crown, which is believed to be the school’s first-ever volleyball league title.

The Unsung Hero was undoubtedly El Capitan setter Hannah McGrath. Frankly, the junior was being groomed to contend to be the Vaqueros starting setter for 2023, but when anticipated starter Ruby Ennis tore the meniscus in her knee on the first day of preseason training camp, McGrath was asked to step in and grow up in a hurry to accommodate such teammates as Triplett and Madelynn Wutzke to fuel the Vaq Attack.

All-League Teams
Selected by the coaches

GROSSMONT HILLS LEAGUE
First Team
POY – Madison Triplett – El Cap (Jr)
Madelynn Wutzke – El Cap (So)
Ella Giordano – Helix (Sr)
Temukisa Sagiao – Helix (Jr)
Delaney Fry – Granite Hills (Jr)
Mallory Guinn – West Hills (Sr)
LOY – Madison Bizjak – Granite Hills (Sr)

Second Team
Isabella Barrios – Helix (Jr)
Meghan Rea – Granite Hills (Sr)
Hannah Mcgrath – El Cap (Jr)
Alexa Amaya – Valhalla (Jr)
Dakota Rozeboom – West Hills (Sr)

GROSSMONT VALLEY LEAGUE
First Team
1. POY – Faith Manis – Steele Canyon , Senior , (MB OH)
2. Auvia Washington- Grossmont, Senior (OH)
3. Ashley Leyva – El Cajon Valley , Senior (MB)
4. Chancey Lewis – Steele Canyon , Senior (RS)
5. Isabel Curtin – Grossmont , Senior (L)
6. Sharlyne Avila – Sanchez , El Cajon Valley , Junior (S)
LOY – Martha Rivas – El Cajon Valley , Senior

Second Team
1. Ava Zimmer – Grossmont, Senior , (S)
2. Dahlia Blake – Grossmont, Junior (MB)
3. Olivia Valverde – El Cajon Valley , Senior (OH)
4. Ruth Taulanga – El Cajon Valley , Junior (MB)
5. Deanna Guerrero – Steele Canyon , Junior (MB)
6. Brookelyn Isackson – Steele Canyon , Senior (O