The San Marcos girls beach volleyball team suffered only three losses this season, all coming against top-five teams in CIF-SS Division 1.
Ranked fourth in the division, the Royals fell to top-ranked Mira Costa and No. 3 Redondo Union during the regular season. On Wednesday, they dropped a 4-1 decision against No. 5 Huntington Beach in a quarterfinal playoff match on their home courts.
San Marcos finishes the season at 21-3 while Huntington Beach (15-1) advances to the Division 1 final four on Saturday at Long Beach City College.
“Our girls came out and gave it their all, I’m super proud of them,” said San Marcos coach Teslin LeMaster, who was serving her first season as a varsity head coach. “A lot of them dropped the first set and they came back and absolutely battled in that second game and really put a lot of pressure on Huntington, but (the Oilers) just kind of outsmart us. They were really strong on their offensive shots and really strong defensively. They did not let a lot of balls drop.”
San Marcos’ lone victory came at the No. 4 spot as Caylin Cooney and Paige Hoadley regrouped from a rough first set and defeated Sevrin Johnson/Lexington Freund, 10-21, 21-18, 15-10.
Cooney/Hoadley went on a 3-point run to claim the third set. At 12-10, Cooney sided out and followed with a service ace down the middle. On the final point, Hoadley made a diving up on a Huntington Beach overset and Cooney poked the ball into open space for the victory.
“I’m really proud of how they just buckled down, found their rhythm and figured out what worked for them. They changed up their defensive strategy and they really took Huntington Beach to the rails. Happy they came back with that,” said LeMaster.
Huntington Beach field a strong lineup, led by the Cal Poly-bound duo of Haylee Lafontaine and Danielle Sparks in the No. 1 spot. Cal Poly coach Todd Rogers, a San Marcos alum and a 2016 Olympics beach volleyball gold medalist, is getting a terrific pair.
Lafontaine, the blocker, and Sparks, the defensive dynamo, jumped on San Marcos’ top pair of Josie Gamberdella/Cora Loomer early in the first set and won 20-16.
Gamberdella/Loomer kept it close in the second set before Lafontaine/Sparks went on a 6-1 run to break it open en route to a 21-12 victory.
Lafontaine and Sparks are ranked among the top-50 high school girls beach volleyball players in the country by Volleyball Magazine.
Huntington Beach coach Cami Sanchez, a former collegiate beach volleyball player at UCLA and Grand Canyon University, said the duo has great chemistry.
“They’ve known each other since they were born, they’ve been best friends forever. So now they’re going to Cal Poly together. They were a force today.”
Asked about how the defense of all five of her teams made it difficult for San Marcos to win rallies, Sanchez said her players “are just natural athletes, in my opinion. There’s not a lot to teach them and coach them. We’re really proud of them and we’re excited about Saturday.”
The Oilers will face Mira Costa in one semifinal, while Redondo Union and JSerra meet in the other.
In the other matches Wednesday: at No. 2, Taylor Ponchak/Molly Serafin of Huntington Beach defeated Elena Thomas/Evyn Miller, 21-18, 21-9; Kami Milius/Kennedy Kim (HB) beat Katie Kracke/Sam Fallon 22-20, 21-18 at No. 3, and Sam Applehof/Gracie Bumgarner (HB) held off Lila Westmacott/Gracie Stone at the No. 5 position, 25-23, 25-20.
“We knew it was going to be a battle coming into it,” said LeMaster of playing the No. 5 Oilers.
Despite coming up short of a final four berth, she was more than happy how the season went for San Marcos beach volleyball.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better season, a better group of girls,” she said. “They came to practice every single day and challenged each other to be better. They were all so positive and so excited about the challenge of the season and really wanting to take it and show what the Royals have to offer.
“It was just beyond my wildest dreams for my first season.”