After spending most of her summer playing indoor volleyball tournaments with her club team, Bishop Diego junior Eliana Urzua hit the beach and won a national title.
Urzua and partner Shayla Martinez, a sophomore at Chaminade High, captured the 16-under Gold Division at the AAU Junior National Beach Volleyball Championships at Hermosa Beach last Sunday.
The pair went 13-1 during the three-day tournament, including a 4-0 record in Sunday’s Gold Bracket.
Urzua/Martinez scored a stunning comeback victory in the semifinals, rallying from a 14-3 deficit to defeat University of Texas beach volleyball commits Lily Davis of Texas and Caroline Mackechnie of Manhattan Beach, 28-26.
In the final, Urzua/Martinez defeated Audrey Davis (Manhattan Beach) and Samantha Hsu (Palos Verdes), 28-22.
Urzua is part of 805 Beach in Santa Barbara, coached by Jordon Dyer.
Earlier in the month, she played at the USA Volleyball Junior National Indoor Championships in Chicago and was invited to the High School Under Armour Indoor Volleyball Camp.
Urzua has verbally committed to play indoor volleyball at UCLA.