SportStar Of The Week: Makaela Tanaka

Archbishop Mitty-San Jose – Volleyball – Senior

The All-American setter bound for Fordham next fall was the Monarchs’ lone All-Tournament selection at the prestigious Nike Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas from Sept. 15-16. Mitty went 6-1 at the tournament and took fifth place in the Championship Division. Tanaka had 181 assists over the two days, averaging 12 per set. She also sprinkled in 29 digs, six kills and five blocks. In the fifth-place game against a Torrey Pines team which defeated them earlier in the season, the Monarchs battled back from a 25-16 loss in the first set to win the next two 25-16, 25-18. Tanaka had 38 assists and 13 digs in the match. Mitty’s strong road trip pushed its record to 12-4 on the season. The Monarchs opened their West Catholic Athletic League schedule with a 3-0 win at St. Francis-Mountain View. Every WCAL match will be a grind, but the team’s first showdown with St. Ignatius-S.F. on Sept. 26 will likely be a matchup of the top two teams in the SportStars NorCal Top 20.