Mesa Magic! San Diego Claims 3C2A Beach Volleyball Title

May 9, 2025

LONG BEACH – A picture-perfect Southern California day set the stage as the top six community college beach volleyball teams in California met in Long Beach to compete for the 3C2A State Championship. In a fitting finale, the South's No. 1 seed, San Diego Mesa faced off against the North's top team, Fresno City College. With determination and resilience, Mesa came out on top, securing a 3-1 victory.

Mesa arrived ready to compete, opening the tournament with a 4-1 win over Cerritos. Their only loss came in a tight three-set battle at the No. 2 position where Ami Lagrimas and Layla Folkers fell to Monserrat Rodriguez and Rosie Cazares-Gonzalez (17-21,21-17,15-13). In their second match, the Olympians took down defending state champion Feather River College 3-1, ending the Golden Eagles' hopes of repeating.

Fresno City entered the final with an undefeated record and high expectations after cruising past Santa Barbara 5-0 and outlasting MiraCosta 3-1. Their semifinal match was a grind, with three of the four matches going to three sets, but the Rams proved battle-tested and earned their shot at the title.

The championship match saw San Diego Mesa strike first. On court five, Trina Nguyen and Bella Town weathered an early push from Jayla Iverson and Reyna Wade to win 21-17, 21-18. Moments later, Mesa's No. 1 duo, Myah Gomez and Jaiden Mojica, delivered a dominant 21-13, 21-16 performance over Lusa Andrews and Phoebe Constable, giving the Olympians a 2-0 lead.

Fresno got on the board at the No. 2 spot with a composed win by Malia Edwardson and Ashlan VanGronigen, who took down Ami Lagrimas and Layla Folkers in straight sets. But Mesa's Maria Coronado and Eva Luna sealed the championship with a comeback win on court four, rallying from a first-set loss to defeat Diamond'Nique Young and Annika Ramirez 15-21, 21-15, 16-14.

"I'm just so proud of them," said Mesa Head Coach Kim Lester. "They've shown grit and perseverance all year, and today they just fought until the very end. I told them from the start—they were the team that could do this. We knew going up against an undefeated Fresno team, we had nothing to lose. So we just went out and played Mesa Volleyball. I'm beyond proud of these girls. They've worked so hard and they earned this."

"This is probably the best team in our program's history," said Fresno head coach Kieran Roblee. "We were undefeated in conference, finished 28-1, and these kids really invested and cared. If we didn't care, we wouldn't feel this hurt right now. But I'm incredibly proud of what they accomplished. And credit to Mesa—they came out and played an excellent match today."

The championship was a rematch of last year's semifinal, where Fresno edged Mesa in a 3-2 thriller. This time, it was Mesa who prevailed—flipping the narrative and finishing their season on top.

The 3C2A Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship begins Friday at 8:00 a.m., continuing through Saturday as the top pairs in the state compete for individual honors.

State Championship Results – San Diego Mesa 3, Fresno City 1
1's: Myah Gomez/Jaiden Mojica (Mesa) def. Lusa Andrews/Phoebe Constable (FCC) – 21-13, 21-16
2's: Malia Edwardson/Ashlan VanGronigen (FCC) def. Ami Lagrimas/Layla Folkers (Mesa) – 21-16, 21-16
3's: Halen Kiefer/Lia Go Soco (Mesa) vs. Reese Ccuttone/Julia Nicolet (FCC) – Not completed
4's: Maria Coronado/Eva Luna (Mesa) def. Diamond'Nique Young/Annika Ramirez (FCC) – 15-21, 21-15, 16-14
5's: Trina Nguyen/Bella Town (Mesa) def. Jayla Iverson/Reyna Wade (FCC) – 21-17, 21-18

Release by Megan Powers, CCCSIA/3C2A State Beach Volleyball Championship SID