Beach VB Falls One Match Short of Return to State

The VC beach volleyball team fell one match short of a third straight trip to the 3C2A State Championships Tuesday, defeating No. 9-seeded Long Beach 3-2 before falling to host and top-seed San Diego Mesa 4-1. Shai Daniels and Viola Barrios captured the only point against the Olympians for the No. 8-seeded Pirates while Addison Olson and Giannamay Tayco won against LBCC and took their second opponents to a decisive third set.

In the first match of the day, Mesa defeated Long Beach 5-0.

Talia Behrens and Sadie Lishman played on the first open court to start the Pirates' match against Long Beach. VC's No. 2 pair were off to a quick start and went up 10-4, eventually winning in straight sets to claim Ventura's first victory of the day.

The next two pairs, Daniels and Barrios, and Lexi Brinkman and Skylar Rutherford, met more of a challenge against the Vikings. The Pirates' No. 1 duo Daniels and Barrios fell in straight sets to a LBCC team with great ball control. Brinkman and Rutherford won their first set handily but Long Beach's No. 4's sent it to a third. Rutherford ripped three aces to start the set, and VC never trailed, winning 15-12 in the third.

Ventura's No. 3 team, Olson and Tayco, and the No. 5's, Daphne Raymond and Olivia Brown, both took their matches to a tiebreaker set. Olson and Tayco won 15-6 in their decisive set and Raymond and Brown played a back-and-forth battle but fell 19-21. The Pirates won the dual 3-2 to set up a winner-take-all match against San Diego Mesa.

The final match began with Behrens and Lishman dropping the No. 2 match to a talented Mesa blocker/defender pair. Brinkman and Rutherford played a back-and-forth game against two split-blockers on Court 4 and kept it close before losing in two sets.

Daniels and Barrios kept the Pirates hopes of a third straight state tournament alive with a 3-set win at the No. 1 spot.  Meanwhile, things were looking good on Court 3 as Olson and Tayco sent their match to a third set. Unfortunately, the Olympians captured the third set 15-9 to clinch their trip to state, and VC also fell on Court 5 with Brown and Raymond falling in straight sets.

The trip to the post-season was the fifth straight for the Pirates, who ended the season with a 17-7 overall record. VC does still have two pairs, Daniels and Barrios, and Behrens and Lishman, vying for a spot in the 3C2A State Pairs Championships. Play in the Southern California Regionals will take place on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, at Mt. San Antonio College.

Ventura 3, Long Beach 2

1. Shai Daniels/Viola Barrios (VC) lost to Tyreana Allen/Enaya Vaielua (LBCC), 21-10, 21-9
2. Talia Behrens/Sadie Lishman (VC) def. Jadyn Dew/Mikayla Curry (LBCC), 21-13, 21-11
3. Addison Olson/Giannamay Tayco (VC) def. Ryannah Gagau/Kaylani Moncada (LBCC), 21-19, 17-21, 15-6
4. Skylar Rutherford/Lexi Brinkman (VC) def. Alexandra Rosquin/Camille Agrupis (LBCC), 21-18, 18-21, 15-12
5. Olivia Brown/Daphne Raymond (VC) lost to Ryleeh Tuaolo/Veronica Lanuza (LBCC), 21-15, 9-21, 21-19

Ventura 1, San Diego Mesa 4

1. Shai Daniels/Viola Barrios (VC) def. SDMC 1's, 21-19, 11-21, 15-11
2. Talia Behrens/Sadie Lishman (VC) lost to SDMC 2's, 21-15, 21-16
3. Addison Olson/Giannamay Tayco (VC) lost to SDMC 3's, 21-13, 19-21, 15-9
4. Skylar Rutherford/Lexi Brinkman (VC) lost to SDMC 4's, 21-15, 21-17
5. Beira Boyso/Taylor Lane(VC) lost to SDMC 5's, 21-9, 21-12