The Pirate beach volleyball team advanced two duos into the quarterfinal round of the Western State Conference Pairs Tournament Friday in Santa Monica. Autumn Rojelio and Bryce Swain along with Kylie Ibbotson and Alba Romanos Gracia each qualified for next weekend's Southern California Regionals by moving into the Round of 8.
Ventura's No. 5 pair of Skylar Rutherford and Liz Schalde had a difficult outing in their preliminary round match. They fell behind 21-10 in the first set against their opponents from Santa Barbara before taking the second 21-17, only to drop the third 15-10.
The Pirates No. 4 team of Gracie Piro and Gabby Raines swept their first round match 21-12, 21-10 over Bakersfield before falling to teammates Rojelio and Swain, who received a first round bye, in the Round of 16.
VC's No. 3 duo of Makena Schaumloeffel and Lily Hazzard were victorious in their first round match-up, coming from behind against a team from Bakersfield, 18-21, 21-10, 15-11. They had their tournament come to an end in the Round of 16, however, falling to the top-seeded team from Santa Barbara.
The duo of Ibbotson and Gracia also received a first round bye before defeating a team from Santa Monica to qualify for the regionals and move into Saturday's quarterfinals.
The final eight places of the tournament will be determined in Santa Monica on Saturday April 27. The draw will be played out to help determine seeds for the SoCal Regionals beginning Friday May 3.