Chloe Hoffman had won other end-of-the-season pairs tournaments in her first three years of playing beach volleyball for Dos Pueblos.
But Saturday’s event at West Beach in her senior year was special. This was for the first official Channel League Pairs Championship and trip to the CIF-SS individual tournament.
Hoffman and partner Lucy Speier had their “A” going on a beautiful afternoon and rolled to the title, beating Santa Barbara’s No. 1 duo of Gracie Meinzer and Shae Delany, 21-14, 21-5.
The victory gives the senior duo a league double as Dos Pueblos won the first official league team championship earlier in the week.
Hoffman/Speier and Meinzer/Delany will represent the Channel League at the inaugural CIF-SS Pairs Championships, May 8-10 at the Newland Courts in Huntington Beach. Third-place Riley Green and Lily Blankenhorn of San Marcos will be the league’s alternate.
Hoffman/Speier were in sync all day. Their steady play in the final wore down Meinzer/Delany, who in the semifinals rallied from a set down and a 16-11 deficit in the second set to outlast in the San Marcos No. 1 team of Green/Blankenhorn, 17-21, 23-21, 15-11.
Hoffman/Speier won their semifinal match against San Marcos’ No. 4 team of Devyn Burnet/Brooke Hoadley, 21-12, 21-10.
“I feel like all day we just stayed at a high level of intensity and that allowed us to play at a very high level at the very end,” said Hoffman, who is headed to Stanford on a beach volleyball scholarship. “We started off strong and ended strong.”
In the first game of the finals, a Hoffman kill at 11-9 started a personal five-point run that gave DP a commanding lead. She followed with a block and then reeled off three services aces while serving into the wind.
A kill by Meinzer ended the run.
The Dons scored a pair of points before Speier smartly hit a sharp-angled shot for a side out and a 17-12 lead. Hoffman served another ace and then put a shot away after reading Santa Barbara’s play and making the dig.
Speier also played relentless. She passed well, snapped on her hits and found the open spots, ran down balls and did a good job of setting Hoffman.
“She was so good, she was on fire,” said Hoffman of her USF-bound partner. “With all the serving and all the aces, that also really helped us.”
“I feel like that was the best we played together,” said Speier. “We were just super consistent, very little errors on our half. We were reading each other well and communicating well.
“Communication is really key in beach volleyball and I feel like we were just locked in.”
Asked about her hitting, Speier said, “I felt so good. I felt fired up. I’ve been waiting for this the match the whole year. I knew we were going to win because I had it in my heart. Chloe’s won three years in a row, so I didn’t want to let her down.”
A Speier kill followed by an ace opened up a 4-0 lead in the second set against Santa Barbara.
A deflating play for the Dons came at 5-1. In a scramble, Speier dug a hard-hit ball toward the net and Hoffman, with her back to the next, flipped it over with her right hand for the sixth point.
Meinzer sided out but Hoffman/Speier responded with five unanswered points, including two aces by Speier.
“I felt really good about my serving today,” said Speier. “We were just both locked in.”
Santa Barbara coach Kristin Hempy said the long day (pool play started around 8 a.m.) and the tough semifinal match caught up with her senior stars in the final.
“I think they were a little bit tired. It’s been a long day,” she said. “Chloe and Lucy have really been a strong pair as well. They went on a little run and we started to feel the day.”
Hempy said she was proud of how Meinzer/Delany battled back in the epic semifinal match with San Marcos. They fought off two match points to tie the second game at 20. The score was tied again at 21 before the Dons scored the last two points on a service error and deep-middle hit from Meinzer.
In the third set, the Dons went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. At 14-11, Meinzer scored on a roll shot for the final point.
“I was so proud of them for that,” said Hempy of the comeback. “They really wanted it and battled. They were talking every single play about every single thing.
“San Marcos is a really good team at the net, so we were trying to maneuver around Riley. They executed in the key moments.”
For Hoffman, who lost only one match in her beach volleyball career at DP, winning the league team and pairs titles and going to play for CIF championships is a thrill.
“I’m super excited and blessed for everyone who has helped me throughout this whole journey,” she said. “Great way to end it four years in a row.”
Speier said the opportunity to play for CIF titles has been a long time coming.
“I’ve been waiting for this to be a CIF sport since my freshman year,” she said. “This is my main sport. I’ve played indoor volleyball but this is definitely where my heart is. And just to be the first winners is really, really fun.”
