Santa Barbara High girls beach volleyball’s Lola Heckman and Kira Elliott earned a ninth-place finish at the CIF-SS Individual Pairs Tournament on Wednesday in Huntington Beach.
The duo began the day by going 3-0 in pool play to take the top spot in their pool, with wins over Capistrano Valley (28-16), Wildwood (28-6) and El Segundo (28-24).
That performance landed Heckman and Elliott in the Division 1 playoffs, where they won their first matchup against Buena Park by a score of 21-14, 21-9.
They then had their season come to an end in a loss to J Serra, 14-21, 12-21.
“Lola and Kira had a great day overall, clicking really well and communicating effectively,” Santa Barbara High head coach Kristin Hempy said. “Lola had some strong blocks and swings at the net, and Kira used a diversified offense and was hustling on defense.
“They had a strong day representing SBHS and the Channel League.”
San Marcos
The Royals advanced both their teams to the playoffs of the CIF-SS Division 1 Beach Volleyball Pairs Championships in Huntington Beach.
The No. 1 duo of Cora Loomer/Evyn Miller won their first-round match and were eliminated in the second round to finish in ninth place. The No. 2 pair of Charlotte Hastings/Paige Hoadley placed 17th after falling in the first round against fourth-seeded Allyn Hilt/Lily Sprague of Mira Costa, 21-11, 21-10.
Hastings/Hoadley finished second in their four-team pool with a 2-1 record; they beat Crean Lutheran and Providence and lost to Redondo Union, 2-0.
Loomer/Miller, the Channel League pairs champions, went 3-0 in pool play, beating Oaks Christian, Coastal Christian and Lycée. They knocked out Laguna Niguel in the first round of the playoffs (21-10, 11-21, 15-13) and fell against 10th seed Presley Johnson/Skylar Noble of JSerra (21-13, 21-16).