Beach Volleyball Advances To State Team Championship
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Beach Volleyball team won both of their SoCal Regional matches on Tuesday to advance to the State Team Championship.
Santa Barbara was able to host the Regional at East Beach as the South's No. 4 seed, with No. 5 Grossmont and No. 12 Desert as the other teams present. The Vaqueros beat Desert 4-1 before punching their ticket with a 3-0 win over Grossmont.
"I couldn't be prouder of this group—they've earned their spot at the state championship," head coach Ariana Garner said. "We're looking forward to fine-tuning a few things this week and making a strong run."
The Vaqueros got out to a strong start in the opener against Desert. Lina Husek and Tana Long defeated their opponents 21-7, 21-8 on court three. No. 4 pair Stephanie Groswirt and Camryn Chapman and No. 5 pair Juliette Dekker and Giulia Sophie Gentile also each won their second set 21-8 to clinch victories. No. 1 pair Abigail Stenz and Maddie Papia won in straight sets, too—21-15, 21-17.
In between Santa Barbara's matches, Grossmont beat Desert. So, the winner of Santa Barbara-Grossmont would automatically advance without needing any tiebreaker scenarios.
"We came out strong and dominated at the twos and threes, and our No. 4 pair—Camryn and Stephanie—fought back after being down big in both sets to pull off an impressive comeback win," Garner said.
No. 2 pair Kaylin Cooney and Sophie Ward cruised to a 21-10, 21-14 victory. Husek/Long similarly won 21-13, 21-12, so the Vaqueros needed just one more win to clinch the match.
The two comebacks Garner alluded to were essential to Groswirt/Chapman's straight-set win on court four. After a 21-19 first-set victory, they took the second 21-18, setting the Vaqueros into celebration.
"The girls battled hard in both matches, but especially brought incredible intensity and passion in our final match against Grossmont," Garner concluded.
After placing fourth and fifth respectively at last week's WSC Pairs Tournament, Stenz/Papia (No. 16 seed) and Ward/Long (No. 20 seed) will compete at the SoCal Pairs Regional beginning this Friday at El Camino.
As a team, the Vaqueros will travel to Mt. San Antonio for the State Team Championship on Thursday, May 7, with matches scheduled against MiraCosta and Feather River.
Match one: Santa Barbara def. Desert 4-1
1s: Stenz/Papia (SBCC) def. Rothe/Thomas (COD) 21-15, 21-17
2s: Leon/Kalepp (COD) def. Cooney/Ward (SBCC) 12-21, 22-20, 15-11
3s: Husek/Long (SBCC) def. Hanley/Castro (COD) 21-7, 21-8
4s: Groswirt/Chapman (SBCC) def. Kardol/Delgado (COD) 21-12, 21-8
5s: Dekker/Gentile (SBCC) def. Curtis/Moreno (COD) 21-14, 21-18
Match two: Santa Barbara def. Grossmont 3-0
1s: Stenz/Papia (SBCC) vs. Ramirez/Smith (GC)
2s: Cooney/Ward (SBCC) def. Neeley/Doan (GC) 21-10, 21-14
3s: Husek/Long (SBCC) def. Jas. Orbita/Morrison (GC) 21-13, 21-12
4s: Groswirt/Chapman (SBCC) def. Herron/Lawton (GC) 21-19, 21-18
5s: Dekker/Gentile (SBCC) vs. Jen Orbita/Torres (GC)