Top seeds advance in beach volleyball pairs play and are joined by a trio of double-digit seeds
Championship Bracket matchups and results
SARATOGA - The top six seeded pairs teams from Southern California made their way through pool play at the 3C2A Beach Volleyball Championship at West Valley College on Friday and will be joined by the top four seeds from Northern California. But a quartet of double-digit seeded teams, including 19th-seeded Paige Cutwright and Alexandra Selivanov of Orange Coast College, will join the higher seeds as competition moves to bracket play and an eventual state champion on Saturday.
Friday was all about 32 pairs teams - 20 from SoCal and 12 from NorCal - looking to be one of the top two teams from each of the eight four-team pools to find their way to Saturday's championship action. Seeding held true for the top seeds from each region who dominated their way through play. South top seed Madison Bogle and Alana Embry from Grossmont and the North's No. 1-seeded team of Carissa Chainey and Eliana Sheridan from Feather River each went a perfect 3-0 on Friday morning while not dropping a set.
Lindsay Heller and Erin Eschelman of Cabrillo, seeded No. 2 from NorCal, duplicated that effort while winning their pool while Ventura College's duo of Ashley Johnson and Olivia Setton, SoCal's No. 2 seed, were stretched to three sets in their opening match during the morning wave of play before they stormed back to sweep their next two opponents. The next four seeds from SoCal - Autumn Rojelio Moreno/Kayla Murdoch of Ventura, Emma Crabbe/Olivia Medina of Santa Barbara City, Chloe Swanson/Barett Nolan of Irvine Valley, and Brisa Zapata-Reaves/Corinne Reaves of Orange Coast - also advanced out of the afternoon's pool play wave of action.
Crabbe will be trying to repeat as state champion but is making the attempt this year with a new partner.
West Valley's duo of Flor Porras and Kiana Manson, seeded third from NorCal, moved on along with Cabrillo's Alana Patyk-Randa and Paola Jacobs, who were seeded fourth. In all, SoCal sent their top seven seeded teams through to Saturday's championships rounds while five of the top nine from NorCal were able to do so.
However, four teams that were seeded 10th or lower were able to punch their tickets, once again displaying the parity of 3C2A beach volleyball which continues to grow throughout the state. Cutwright and Selivanov were the lowest-seeded team to do so, posting a 2-1 record in pool play. Included in their wins was an exciting 23-25, 21-7, 15-13 victory over Allison Whiteman/Bristol Cristelman of Mt. San Antonio, who were seeded ninth from SoCal.
Irvine Valley's Gabi Brown/Sydney Dews (South #10), Sophia Jarosz/Austia Mendiola (South #11) of San Diego Mesa, and Larissa Dakoske and Hailey Walton (South #13) were other double-digit seeds to qualify for Saturday's rounds.
Bracket play begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday and is single-elimination.