Two weekends ago, Cathedral Catholic of San Diego hoisted the 2019 Durango Fall Classic trophy, beating Mercy of Louisville, Kentucky, in the final. 

That victory rocketed the Dons to the No. 1 spot in the Sept. 26 Flo50 and made them the team to watch heading into this weekend’s Nike Tournament of Championship. 

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The Nike TOC is one of the most competitive high school volleyball tournaments in the country, rivaled only by the aforementioned Durango Fall Classic. Ninety-six teams will converge in Phoenix, Arizona, this Friday and Saturday, looking to prove themselves against the best competition from coast to coast. 

But even though the TOC features teams from Alaska, Florida, Oregon, and places in between, California squads top the list of favorites to win it all. 

Lindsey Miller, a Notre Dame-committed senior middle blocker, led Cathedral to the title in Vegas, earning tournament MVP honors after hitting .577 with 16 kills and four blocks in the championship match. Washington recruit Madison Endsley also made a major impact, blasting 18 kills in the final. 

Two other California teams that cracked the top 10 of last week’s Flo50 will also be in attendance at the Nike TOC, and they’ll be gunning to knock Cathedral off its throne. Let’s start with No. 7 Mater Dei. 

The reigning CIF Southern Section Division I and Open state champion went 43-2 last year, but in 2019, the Monarchs are having to figure out what to do without Natalie Berty. With the 2018 CIF D-1 Player of the Year now a freshman at Stanford, returning starters Meg Brown and Reagan Merk are having to step up and play bigger roles. But perhaps the biggest star of the 2019 Mater Dei squad is Mia Tuaniga. The Long Beach State-bound setter/opposite not only quarterbacks one half of the Mater Dei 6-2 offense, but she’s an excellent server and defender, and she can attack with the best of them.

Mater Dei scored its signature win of the season to date back on Sept. 12 over Assumption of Louisville, Kentucky, the previous national No. 1. The five-set decision marked the end of a 68-match win streak for Assumption.

However, Monarchs’ record also features a five-set loss to Redondo Union on Sept. 5 and an upset by Marymount of Los Angeles at the Durango Fall Classic.

Watch 2019 Nike Tournament of Champions LIVE

No. 6-ranked Marymount will also be in Phoenix this week looking to defend its 2018 Nike TOC title. Led by sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin, a MaxPreps All-American Freshman Team honoree in 2018, the Sailors have accumulated a 16-2 record in 2019, not losing their first match of the season until Durango. Another sophomore Kerry Keefe will be a key player for Marymount, however, she struggled some with a back injury during the tournament in Las Vegas. 

Marymount ended up finishing third at Durango, losing to Mercy in the semifinals and then defeating Marin Catholic in the third-place match, but that victory over Mater Dei will give the team confidence heading into Nike TOC.

As good as they are, all three of these top-10 ranked teams from California have a loss to Redondo Union. The Sea Hawks aren’t competing in the Nike TOC, but one of the only three teams to have defeated them so far this year is: James Logan of Union City, California. 

With exactly zero players taller than 5-9, James Logan upset Redondo 2-1 in Durango pool play, foiling the Sea Hawks chance for a title. With that performance, the Colts cracked the Flo50 (No. 49) and were ranked 10th in the latest Cal-Hi Sports Top 20. Junior pin hitter Alexandria Gloria impressed at Durango and will be a go-to player once again this weekend.

Competition starts Friday at 10 AM PT, with bracket play beginning on Saturday.

Editors' Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Cathedral Catholic was the 2018 Nike Tournament of Champions winner. In fact, Marymount won the platinum bracket at the 2018 Nike TOC.