San Marcos girls beach volleyball capped off its undefeated Channel League season with a 4-1 victory over crosstown rival Santa Barbara High on Monday at East Beach.
The Royals (19-2, 12-0 Channel League) and Dons, who end 7-5 in league play, will now turn their attention to the Channel League Individual Pairs tournament on Thursday in Ventura.
At the No. 1 matchup, San Marcos’ Josie Gamberdella and Cora Loomer took care of business in two sets against Keenan Engebretson and Lola Heckman, 21-17, 21-12.
“The pair pulled away at the end of the closely contested first game and used aggressive serving and consistent play to win decisively in the second game,” San Marcos head coach Tim Loomer said.
The Royals’ No. 2 duo of Sam Fallon and Evyn Miller defeated Paylin Marcillac and Kira Elliot of Santa Barbara High, 21-13, 21-10.
“Focused from the start, solid defense and tough serving fueled the play of Fallon and Miller,” Tim Loomer said. “The victory capped off a few special days for Miller who, over the weekend, committed to play beach volleyball at San Jose State University.”
At court three, Charlotte Hastings and Paige Hoadley of San Marcos tallied a pair of 21-14 victories over Blake Saunders and Stella Peus for the two-set win.
“Hoadley was dialed in defensively, seeming to know exactly where the SB pair would hit the ball,” Tim Loomer said. “Hastings played a solid match spinning together an effective mix of high line shots and hard cross court swings.”
Santa Barbara High’s lone win came at court four, where Madi Priess and Gabby Cajuste took down Kelsey Rowe and Malia Hetrick in straight sets, 21-18, 21-15.
“Madi was hitting particularly well tonight and Gabby had some smart shots on her offense,” Dons head coach Kristin Hempy said.
San Marcos’ Rio Chesluk and Kelsey Helton rounded out the day with a tight victory at the fives against Grace Costner and Jacqueline Durling, 21-16, 23-21. In the second set, Chesluk/Helton came back from a 20-16 deficit to pull out the win.