Golden Eagles soar over Rams as Feather River captures 3C2A Beach Volleyball Championship

Team Championship Results (pool play, championship match) l Thursday photos

SARATOGA - Quincy, a small northern California town with a population of 1,368, can now officially call itself the capital of the California community college volleyball world. Quincy’s pride and joy, the Feather River College Golden Eagles, captured the 2024 3C2A Beach Volleyball Team Championship with a 3-1 win over Fresno City College Thursday afternoon at the West Valley College Beach Volleyball Complex.

Coach Sarah Ritchie can now add the beach title, the program’s first, to the two indoor championships the program won in 2019 and 2022. Thursday’s all-Northern California final ended with the Golden Eagles hoisting the first NorCal championship trophy since Cabrillo in 2018, also at West Valley.

"“We set high standards for our student-athletes and have a good culture, which we’ve got to have because Quincy has just two stoplights and snow," Ritchie said. "Our kids do it right. We work really hard at placing our players at the next level.”

“I looked at our players and we were in really great shape. Our conditioning and weights paid off in the heat today," she added."

Feather River (22-5) and Fresno City (24-3) took similar paths to the championship match. The Golden Eagles were the top seed in Pool B and had to battle past MiraCosta 3-2 in the morning opener and then dispatched Ventura 3-2 in the afternoon semifinal. The Rams were seeded second in Pool A and overcame El Camino 3-2 in the pool opener and top-seeded San Diego Mesa 3-2 in the semifinal.

The Feather River/MiraCosta opener was tied 2-2 until the Golden Eagles 5’s, Maya Cann and Kennison Cota pulled off a 16-21, 21-19, 15-4 reverse sweep over Spartans Payton Lundine and Alexia Bigelow to clinch the match. Feather River and Ventura were knotted at 1-1 after the first wave, but wins by Golden Eagle 3’s, Ashlee Kraft and Anna Bolich and 5’s Cann and Cota ended the season for the Pirates. 

Fresno City had a 2-0 lead over El Camino after the first wave, thanks to a three-set win by 2’s Malia Edwardson and Ashlan VanGronigen over El Camino’s Erica Griffiths and Sophia Ortiz and sweep by 4’s Reese Cuttone and Julia Nicolet over Addy Abrams and Perla Lopez. The match ended with a 21-17, 21-13 sweep in the 3’s from Lucy Doyle and Marissa Mendrin over Bianca Atienza-Perez and Kayla Keyzer.  

The Fresno City/San Diego Mesa semifinal was one of the best matches of the day. The Rams grabbed a 2-0 lead after the first wave, highlighted by an Edwardson/VanGronigen 14-21, 22-20, 15-6 reverse-sweep three-setter in the 2’s. Mesa knotted it at 2-2 after a Madison Daniels/Jaiden Mojica win in the 5’s and a Kailyn Jager/Myah Gomez sweep in the 1’s. A tense 22-20, 18-21, 15-12 win by 3’s Doyle and Mendrin over Mesa’s Mia Wettergren and Ami Lagrimas sent the Rams to the finals.

Feather River 5’s Cann and Cota opened the title match with a 21-14, 21-12 win over Hailey Allen and Reyna Wade. A Craft/Bolich 21-14, 21-16 win in the 3’s over Doyle and Mendrin made it 2-0 Golden Eagles.

The Rams stayed alive with a Cuttone/Nicolet 20-22, 21-8, 15-12 win in the 4’s. The championship was clinched, setting off a sand-filled Golden Eagle dogpile, with an exciting 21-15, 10-21, 15-8 Abby Cogburn and Franny Martins win over Edwardson and VanGronigan in the 2’s.

“Our depth came through all day. Our 5’s are no less or no more important than our 1’s," Ritchie said. "We had the strongest ladder, up and down the ladder, we’ve ever had.”

Thursday's championship match was the first-ever contested between two Northern California programs.

“It was awesome to have two NorCal schools in the final," Ritchie said. "Southern California is known for beach volleyball; there are no beaches in Quincy and Fresno. (Fresno City head coach) Kieraan (Roblee) is an awesome coach and runs an awesome program. She’s my mentor and idol.”

The 3C2A Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship begins Friday at 8:00 am, with the matches continuing Saturday until a pairs champion is crowned.

FEATHER RIVER 3, FRESNO CITY 1
1’s: Emma Daugherty/Kiyana Faupula (FRC) vs. Phoebe Constable/Karley Lake (FCC): match halted
2’s: Abby Cogburn/Franny Martins (FRC) defeat Malia Edwardson/Ashlan VanGronigen (FCC): 21-15, 10-21, 15-8
3’s: Ashlee Kraft/Anna Bolich ((FRC) defeat Lucy Doyle/Marissa Mendrin (FCC): 21-14, 21-16
4’s: Reese Cuttone/Julia Nicolet (FCC) defeat Mallory Foster/Hannah Dowers (FRC): 20-22, 21-8, 15-12
5’s: Maya Cann/Kennison Cota (FRC) defeat Hailey Allen/Reyna Wade (FCC): 21-14, 21-12

Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 2