San Marcos girls volleyball wrapped up the Channel League season with a Senior Night sweep of Oxnard inside the Thunderhut, 25-14, 25-13, 25-19.
The Royals honored the senior class group of Elena Thomas, Josie Gamberdella and Gianna Mandarino in a pregame ceremony.
“[Thomas has done so much in her four years with SM, we were lucky to have her on varsity from freshman year on and we truly appreciate all the work she has put in,” San Marcos coach Dwayne Hauschild said. “Josie has been another four-year varsity player and has been the backbone of our team. She is one of the most determined kids I’ve coached and I know when she gets to Long Beach State next year she will make things happen.
“Gianna is a returning varsity player and has played almost every position on our team at some point. She is a super smart and mature kid and is a consummate team player. She is exactly the kind of high-character kid we like to see at San Marcos.”
In the sweeping victory, Reese Paskin and Charlotte Hastings led the Royals’ offense with nine kills apiece while Cora Loomer chipped in seven of her own.
The win capped off a 13-1 league season for San Marcos, who had clinched an outright Channel League championship at the beginning of last week.
“I am so happy for our team and all the effort they put in to win it,” Hauschild said. “Everyone contributed and we all got better throughout the season as individuals and as a team.”
The Royals will round out the regular season with a non-league matchup against Bishop Diego on Wednesday inside the Brick House at 6 p.m.
Bishop Diego 3, Laguna Blanca 1
The Cardinals took down the Owls in four sets in a local matchup in the Brick House, 25-7, 23-25, 25-17, 25-15.
“The Owls came to play tonight and are a well-coached bunch,” Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett said. “We did a lot of good things, and we made some mistakes that were going to focus on cleaning up tomorrow night.
“This was another hard-fought win by the Cardinals against a strong serving team that put pressure on our blockers. We look forward to hosting the Royals tomorrow night for Senior Night.”
Nicole Schuetz led the way with 17 kills, five aces and four blocks while Sophie Otte stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of eight kills, five aces and five blocks. Wynter Thorne-Thomsen had six kills and four aces.
Meanwhile, Chloe Gidney paced the Laguna Blanca offense with eight kills while Danica Rux and Mitra Mehrabi weren’t far behind at seven and six kills, respectively.
“We played a great overall match tonight,” Owls coach Jason Donnelly said. “We don’t match up with Bishop physically, but when we were in system we found ways to score points. Danica and Mitra both had effective offensive nights in the middle.
“We are right where we want to be heading into the playoffs. This was a great test for us and we are looking forward to getting back to practice tomorrow.”
While the Cardinals (23-6, 7-1 TVL) will face off with San Marcos on Wednesday, the Owls (13-8, 6-2 FL) will await their CIF-SS playoff draw on Saturday.