Daniels and Barrios Claim WSC Pairs Title

VC's beach volleyball duo of Shai Daniels and Viola Barrios claimed the Western State Conference Pairs Championship in tournament play Friday and Saturday at Santa Barbara's East Beach. Meanwhile, the Pirates' No. 2 pair of Sadie Lishman and Jocelyn Alfar also advanced past Day 1 to qualify for the Southern California Regionals, placing eighth in the draw.

Play began Friday with 34 pairs in the bracket. Callie Cahill and Chelsea Torres took to the sand in the play-in round, falling 21-12, 21-18 to a pair from Cuesta while Madison Mierau and Beira Boyso moved to the Round of 25 with a 21-14, 21-16 win over Santa Monica's No. 5 pair.

Addison Olson and Monaye Ramessar began play in the next round, defeating the No. 3 duo from Bakersfield, 24-22, 21-15. Mierau and Boyso fell in their second match of the day to the top pair from Cuesta, 21-16, 21-17.

Olson and Ramessar had their tournament come to an end in the Round of 16 as they fell to Santa Barbara's 1's, 21-14, 21-19. Daniels and Barrios, the top seed in the bracket, took to the court in the round, sweeping past a pair from Santa Barbara, 21-18, 21-18. Meanwhile, No. 5-seed Lishman and  Alfar also played, coming back to defeat a pair from Santa Monica in three sets, 20-22, 21-14, 15-9. With the wins, the Pirates' top two pairs clinched their spots in the Southern California Regionals to be held Friday May 1 at El Camino.

On Saturday, Daniels and Barrios won their quarterfinal match against SBCC's No.2 pair, 21-17, 21-14. Meanwhile, Lishman and Alfar fell to Santa Monica's top duo, 21-18, 21-18.

Lishman and Alfar then forced a third set against Santa Barbara's 2s before falling 12-21, 21-16, 15-9.  In their final contest, VC's No. 2 duo fell to Bakersfield's No. 1 pair 21-19, 21-19 to place eighth in the tournament. 

Daniels and Barrios advanced to the finals with a 21-19, 21-19 win over Santa Monica's 1s.  They claimed the conference title with a 21-17, 21-19 sweep over Moorpark's top pair.

The Pirates' No. 1 duo becomes the second VC team to win the WSC Pairs Tournament, joining Tori Hiott and Paris Dosch who won the title in 2017.

Ventura now awaits its fate for the team post-season. The Pirates finished the season with a record of 15-5 overall and 8-4 in the WSC. The 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoff will be held on Tuesday Apr. 28.  Meanwhile, Daniels and Barrios, along with Lishman and Alfar, will next compete at the SoCal pairs tournament beginning on Friday May 1 at El Camino.