Portia Sherman, a Dos Pueblos alum and a current member of the Cal beach volleyball team, combined with teammate Emma Donley to win the USA Volleyball Junior Pan American Games Beach Trials on Sunday in Manhattan Beach.

Portia Sherman qualified to play at the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay this summer.

Sherman/Donley defeated second-seeded Piper Ferch/Erin Inskeep of Cal Poly, 15-21, 21-17, 15-12, and earned the right to represent the United States at the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games in Asuncion, Paraguay, scheduled for Aug. 9-23.

Sherman/Donley were the No. 6 seed in the 16-team single-elimination bracket. The pair won four playoff matches and went 1-1 in pool play. Their lone loss was against Ferch/Inskeep for first place in the pool.

In their route to the finals, Sherman/Donley beat No. 5 Kelly Belardi/Clara Stowell of Stanford, No. 8 Madison White (USC) and high schooler Sarah Wood and No. 3 Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah of Long Beach State.

Sherman is entering her junior year at Cal. She helped the Bears reach in the NCAA quarterfinals last year.

Barry Punzal is a Noozhawk contributing writer, and was for many years Noozhawk's sports editor. He can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.