In a rivalry like no other, Sacred Heart Cathedral (SHC) and Saint Ignatius (SI) have faced off for over a hundred years through various sports events. The inclusion of girls’ sports in the historic competition between the schools has been a long time coming. Girls’ volleyball and basketball were added only three years ago but are now two of the most beloved events in the Bruce Mahoney series. Tuesday night, hundreds of students packed the USF War Memorial Gym to watch the first leg of the renowned games: girls’ volleyball. Coming from a 4-1 record at the Spikefest tournament in September, the Irish set high expectations going into the match. “Everyone expected a blowout and we came, we fought. We swept them the first two sets,” raved defensive specialist Zoe Lee ‘26. Lee didn’t exaggerate when describing the beginning of the game as a “sweep.” The Irish demonstrated their incredible skill on the attack and defense with several impressive blocks from the front line and low digs from libero Madi Mullins ‘26. Although the two sets were neck and neck at first, the Irish pulled ahead and won both by 5 points or more.
It seemed the Irish lost their steam by the third set, however. Coach Symone Mackiewicz, the head coach of the Varsity girls, admitted that the team “may have gotten a little gassed out, a little relaxed,” after playing so well at the start. This lax in later rounds may have been what allowed the Wildcats to slip through the cracks and win the next two sets to tie up the game. Still, Coach Symone is optimistic for the upcoming season, “We’re just [going to] keep building on [our skills]. We’re gonna go back to practice and apply more pressure during drills.”
As the longest-standing rivalry between any two private schools in the Bay Area, tensions were high between SHC and SI as they entered the game-winning fifth set. It was all down to these last 15 points. The student sections on either side erupted with cheers, each trying to drown out the other and shower their team with love. They had to be careful what they said, though. Both teams had already been issued a yellow card for rowdy behavior in the crowd. One step out of line, and the fans risked a point penalty to their team.
The first point of the last set went to the Irish when middle Caira Tasi ‘28 landed a powerful spike on Wildcat ground. “She’s a freshman!” the Irish student section cheered as she high-fived her teammates. Another slam across the court from Senior Livy Tangaan put them ahead by two. Slowly, the Wildcats were able to recuperate and pull ahead, leading to a final score of 15-10 for the fifth set. Despite the Wildcats taking home the win for this Bruce Mahoney game, Middle Hazel Nelson ‘25 and the rest of the team are keen on dominating the rest of the season. “[Tonight] we played as a team. The energy was totally there,” she praised post-game. “After this, I think we can use this game as motivation. The intensity we had, the attitude we had on the court, we all believed it. Even though the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, we all believed it through the end… If we continue that attitude, that mindset throughout the season, I think we’ll do really well.”
The Irish and Wildcats will face off one more time during the regular season on October 24th at home. Regardless of the result last night, students should hold high hopes that the Irish will come back better than ever. Home games are free for SHC students, so make sure to go support the team as they climb their way up to the WCAL championship.
