By Jimmy Friery
SARATOGA, CA – Santa Barbara City College Beach Volleyball sent their 1s and 2s teams to the 3C2A State Pairs Championship beginning Friday, hosted by West Valley College.
Olivia Medina and Ashley Rossi came in with a 30-1 record on the season, representing the South region's #1 seed after their Regional championship last weekend. Alexis Zevenbergen and Nevaeh Tillet—the Vaqueros 2s—were seeded as the South #12.
In the pool play format, every qualifying pair was guaranteed 3 matches within a pool of 4 teams. The top 2 pairs from each of the 8 pools would advance to the round of 16 on Saturday.
Unfortunately for the Vaqueros 2s, their great season ended after pool play. Zevenbergen/Tillet lost in two sets to OCC's Blair/Mason, the South #4, to start their day. Match 2 went to extra points in both sets, but the Vaqueros succumbed 25-23, 23-21 to North #5 Feather River. Their final match was a two-set loss to Mt. San Antonio's Ceballos/Griego.
Nonetheless, it was a great effort from the duo, coming into the year with just 1 season of competitive Beach Volleyball experience between them. Look for Tillet to be a big part of next year's team following this solid year of growth.
For the SoCal Regional champs, Medina/Rossi were the favorites to top their pool. In the first match of the day, they were hit with a wake-up call, though, falling to San Diego Mesa's (South #9) Jager/Gomez in two sets.
Thankfully, the pool play format allowed them to regroup and settle in for the opportunity to still make it out of the group. The Vaqueros pair defeated North #13 Skinner/Adebodun 21-11, 21-19 before handedly beating North #8 Harm/Savorn 21-11, 21-11.
Their 2-1 pool play record was good enough for 2nd in the group, advancing them to Saturday's round of 16. There, they will play a very familiar foe.
Ventura's 1s team of Rojelio/Swain awaits, a pair that Medina/Rossi have played against twice already. In the team WSC-deciding match, the Vaqueros 1s won the matchup 21-13, 21-15. A few weeks later, in the WSC Pairs championship match, Medina/Rossi prevailed in that one, as well. Rojelio/Swain made it to last weekend's SoCal Regional Final against Medina/Rossi, but forfeited to preserve their energy for this Championship weekend.
In hindsight, that seems like a great decision. Tomorrow, the pairs will compete at 11:00 AM, with the winner punching their ticket to the quarterfinals.
SBCC 1s: Olivia Medina and Ashley Rossi, 2-1:
Jager/Gomez (MESA, S9) def. Medina/Rossi (SBCC, S1) 21-12, 21-17
Medina Rossi (SBCC, S1) def. Skinner/Adebodun (SC, N13) 21-11, 21-19
Medina Rossi (SBCC, S1) def. Harm/Savorn (ARC, N8) 21-11, 21-11
SBCC 2s: Alexis Zevenbergen and Nevaeh Tillet, 0-3:
Blair/Mason (OCC, S4) def. Zevenbergen/Tillet (SBCC, S12) 21-14, 21-11
Cogburn/Martins (FRC, N5) def. Zevenbergen/Tillet (SBCC, S12) 25-23, 23-21
Ceballos/Griego (MTSAC, S14) def. Zevenbergen/Tillet (SBCC, S12) 21-12, 21-14
