The three volleyball players from the Santa Clarita Valley who made the All-CIF list are each from different schools, but they’re all connected.
Shelby Grubbs of Hart, Hannah Caddow of Trinity Classical Academy and Megan Dombrowski of Santa Clarita Christian School each were honored in their respective CIF-Southern Section Divisions on Monday and all play club volleyball together on Legacy 18 Elite.
“Legacy has brought all the high schools together in the valley and we get to see people we wouldn’t see every day at school,” Dombrowski said. “Having our family there at Legacy and knowing the same girls on the team from club … it’s super cool to see them excelling outside of club as well.”
Grubbs made the list in Division 3 after helping Hart to the third round of the CIF-SS tournament, where the Indians fell to Cypress. Prior to that, Hart had its first undefeated Foothill League championship season in program history and Grubbs broke her own program record for single-season blocks.
Grubbs, who will play for Cal State Los Angeles in college, said her success started in practice.
“The toughest team we played in the season was each other in practice,” she said. “To be able to play against the best players in practice every day definitely makes you a stronger player all the way around.”
Caddow made the cut for the Division 8 group as Trinity Classical Academy reached the third round of the CIF-SS tournament. She will be continuing her playing career at Pacific Life in San Dimas, but will never forget her experiences with the Knights.
“I definitely learned to not give up and to never ever give up on your team, even when sometimes in a set or match that might seem a little hard,” Caddow said. “Just that mentality of never giving up and always giving it your all because you never know when it’s going to be your last point.”
Dombrowski also was listed as a Division 8 All-CIF player. Similarly to Trinity and Hart, SCCS lost in the third round of the CIF-SS tournament. Dombrowski was a skilled setter that helped pave the way to a Heritage League title and nearly an undefeated league season, finishing 9-1.
The Cardinal has yet to commit to a school, but will be playing volleyball at the collegiate level after a memorable career at SCCS.
“I love all the girls that I got to meet,” Dombrowski said. “Some of the girls had never even touched a volleyball before they were on JV and just being able to play with a whole bunch of girls at a whole bunch of skill levels is super cool. The family aspect at SCCS is so huge and we’re all in it together.”
With three players from across the SCV on an All-CIF list, that sentiment can be applied to the volleyball community as a whole.