Mae Kordas is a 6-foot-3 pin hitter headed to Yale to play volleyball and study with the finest minds in the world.

She’s versatile enough to be a shutdown right side or a consistent six-rotation outside hitter.

So when Cathedral Catholic High School coach Juliana Conn put her in the middle last month in a tournament in Hawaii, it raised a few eyebrows.

When the Dons started throwing high two sets in the middle to Kordas – a play rarely seen at the high levels of volleyball – at the Dave Mohs Memorial Tournament last weekend, the play was unusual but the results weren’t.

The Dons went often to Kordas in the middle Thursday against Del Mar rival Torrey Pines, and she put away 13 of her match-high 17 kills on that play as host Cathedral Catholic swept the Falcons, 25-23, 25-19, 26-24.

“I like to play wherever my team needs me,” said Kordas, who did get some rotations in the middle in last year’s CIF playoffs. “I think middle’s really fun because I don’t have to focus on passing and being really physical on the net is fun for me.”

Six of Kordas’ seven kills in the second set came on the high two balls. With the score tied at 16, she connected on that play against three blockers, which then proceeded a Maya Evens ace.

Up 18-17, Kordas simply owned the net as the Falcons (19-1) closed it out. She had a kill on a 32, had a stuff block on the next rally, a kill on the high two in the middle, then after a Torrey Pines (4-3) sideout, she struck in the middle again for a 23-18 lead.

She put the set away with her ninth kill of the night on the high two for the commanding 2-0 lead.

“Mae’s not a middle,” said Conn, whose Dons are ranked eighth in the nation by MaxPreps.com “So for us to get production out of her, it has to be a little higher set. Trying to go fast to her is like trying to teach her something that is not necessary for someone who’s such a high ball hitter.”

While Kordas did her damage in the middle, Torrey Pines countered with its own hammer on the outside, 6-foot-4 Finley Krystkowiak, and she was force on the outside.

She finished with 11 kills, two aces and two stuff blocks despite the Falcons not consistently getting the ball to sophomore setter Emery Gonzalez.

“Some of the serve receive stuff that we struggled with definitely was them putting great pressure on us,” said Torrey Pines coach Brennan Dean, whose started lineup featured zero seniors.  “They caused us to be a little bit out of our comfort zone. Some of that is youth. It’s early on in the season. I’m happy with the way that we fought. We were right there in each set.”

Sophomore outside hitter Jaycee Mack chipped in with seven kills, but the Falcons’ offense was held in check largely to the Dons pressure from the service line as well as a hungry defense led by senior libero Evens.

“We’re the hardest working team out there,” said Evens, a Notre Dame commit who finished with 15 digs and three aces. “Everyone did their job. As long as we work together we can pull it off.”

Sophomore outside hitter Jojo Wilson chipped in with six kills and two blocks and 5-7 right side Sophia Johnson chipped in with five kills for the Dons while trying to block Krystkowiak, Mack and Finley Kryskowiak’s twin sister, Samantha.

But make no mistake. On this night Kordas owned the net so often, she probably should have taken it home with her.

“She was phenomenal,” Conn said. “She was hitting over, around. When Mae’s that hot, no matter how many people are in front of her, she’s going to put balls away.”