Daniels and Barrios Finish Fifth in State Championships

VC's No. 1 beach volleyball pair of Shai Daniels and Viola Barrios advanced the the quarterfinal round of the 3C2A State Championships Saturday before falling in a 3-set thriller to finish in a tie for fifth in the state. The duo defeated a tough team from El Camino before falling to the eventual state runner-up from Fresno.

The Pirates' first opponent of the day was El Camino College, coached by Olympic Gold Medalist April Ross. The temperature was 92 degrees, and the courts were hosed down prior to each set to prevent athletes' feet from blistering. Daniels and Barrios got off to a great start, winning five out of the first seven points and El Camino did not have an answer to VC's offense. The Pirate pair VC triumphed with their fourth straight two-set victory of the weekend, winning 21-12, 21-13.

Next up for Ventura's duo was the Northern California regional tournament champion from the state team runner-up Fresno City. After a 45-minute break in the air-conditioned team room, the Pirates returned to the court to face their biggest challenge of the season in the quarterfinal match.

Barrios and Daniels carried their momentum from the day's first match into the first set against the Rams, playing with tremendous energy. They sprinted to a 17-7 lead, and won the first set 21-14 off a big swing from Barrios.

The FCC pair came back with a vengeance in the second set, serving tough and causing the Pirates to make uncharacteristic errors. VC made a late run, but lost the second set 17-21.

The third and deciding set was even at 4-4 when Fresno got a lucky ace that dribbled over the tape. They followed by hitting the back of the end line on their next attack to give them a two-point lead. With the breaks in their favor, Fresno used the continued to maintain a small advantage over VC. Unfortunately, the breaks did not fall the Pirates way in the set and Fresno went on to win the tiebreaker 15-11.

The fifth-place finish for Daniels and Barrios tied for the second-best all-time for the Pirates beach volleyball program, matching Ashley Johnson and Olivia Sletten from 2023 and Kylie Ibbotson and Alba Romanos-Gracia from 2024. Kayla Murdoch and Autumn Rojelio finished third in 2023. The Pirates have had a pair competing on the final day of competition in the state pairs championships for five straight seasons.

Barrios and Daniels, both freshmen, finished the season 23-13 as a pair playing in the Pirates' No. 1 slot and will return in 2026 to fight for the state's top spot once again.