Seton Catholic girls volleyball coach James Johnson sought the basics from his team on Friday night as they traveled the short distance for their season opener against 4A region-rival Marcos de Niza.

"I wanted to see us play clean volleyball,' Johnson said. "Limit our errors, have fun and communicate."

Johnson got his wish. The Sentinels didn't exhibit first-game jitters and methodically put away the host Padres in three sets. Scores were 25-16, 25-14 and 25-16.

Junior middle Mikayla Bell and freshman Elizabeth Steinkamp led Seton's attack with nine kills apiece. Senior Katherine Thiele added six kills. Sophomore setter Sofia Shahlapour spread the wealth with 19 assists. The Sentinels had just one service error making Marcos de Niza earn its points.

Seton controlled every set and never trailed by more than two points - early in the first set, 2-0 and midway through the third, 12-10. The Sentinels pulled away in the first set from a 10-all tie with Steinkamp and Bell doing the attacking for the most part. The second set was all Seton as it began with a 6-0 run keyed by a pair of aces from Shahlapour. Marcos de Niza made a better account in the third set, but a 15-4 close to the set by Seton doused hopes of bringing on a fourth set. 

Marcos de Niza, which dropped to 0-2 adding its season-opening loss via sweep at Mesquite on Thursday, was led on the attack by MacKenzie Porter with six kills. Both those losses were 4A Desert Sky Region defeats. The Padres return to the court on Monday with a home match vs. Tempe High. Seton plays its home opener on Monday against Arizona College Prep.