The San Marcos girls beach volleyball team has only had three losses this season, all of which were against top five teams in CIF-SS Division 1.
The Royals, ranked fourth in the division, lost to first-place Mira Costa and third-place Redondo Union during the regular season. On Wednesday, they lost a 4-1 decision to No. 5 Huntington Beach in the playoff quarterfinals on their home court.
San Marcos finished the season at 21-3 and Huntington Beach (15-1) advanced to the Division I Final Four on Saturday at Long Beach City College.
“Our girls came together and gave it their all. I'm so proud of them,” said San Marcos coach Teslin LeMaster, in her first season as varsity head coach. “A lot of them dropped the first set, but they came back and absolutely fought in the second game and put a lot of pressure on Huntington, but (the Oilers) kind of outmaneuvered us. They played well with their offensive shots. They were really strong and their defense was really strong. They didn't drop the ball too much.”
San Marcos' only win came as Kaylin Cooney and Paige Hoadley bounced back from a rough first set to defeat Sevryn Johnson/Lexington Freund 10-21, 21-18, 15-10, leading to No. 4 It was something I got from sitting there.
Cooney/Hoadley took the lead in the third set with a 3-point run. Cooney went wide at 12-10 and then served an ace to the center. On the final point, Hoadley dove from a Huntington Beach overset and Cooney pushed the ball into open space for the win.
“I'm really proud of them for just sitting back and finding a rhythm and figuring out what works for them. They changed their defensive strategy and really disrupted Huntington Beach. . I'm glad they came back with it,” LeMaster said.
Huntington Beach has a strong lineup at No. 1, led by the combination of Haley LaFontaine and Daniel Sparks from the University of California. Cal Poly coach Todd Rogers, a San Marcos graduate and 2016 Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist, is about to get a great pair.
Blocker LaFontaine and defensive dynamo Sparks pounced on San Marcos' top pairing of Josie Gamberdella/Cora Loomer early in the first set, winning 20-16.
Gamberdera/Roomer kept it close in the second set, but LaFontaine/Sparks broke on a 6-1 run to win 21-12.
LaFontaine and Sparks are ranked among the top 50 high school girls beach volleyball players in the country by Volleyball Magazine.
Huntington Beach coach Kami Sanchez said the two have great chemistry and she has no intention of messing with it.
“They've known each other since birth and have been best friends forever. So now they're going to Cal Poly together. They stepped up today.”
Asked about how the defenses of all five teams make it difficult for San Marcos to win rallies, Sanchez said the players are “just natural athletes, in my opinion. You have to teach them and coach them. There's not much to do. We're really proud of them and looking forward to Saturday.”
In other matches, for second place, Taylor Ponchak/Molly Seraphine (Huntington Beach) defeated Elena Thomas/Evin Miller 21-18, 21-9. Kami Milius/Kennedy Kim (HB) defeated Katie Clack/Sam Fallon 22-20, 21-18 for third place, Sam Applehoff/Gracie Bumgarner (HB) defeated Lila Westmacott / She took 5th place and 25th place, ahead of Gracie Stone. -23, 25-20.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” LeMaster said of playing against the No. 5 Oilers.
Despite falling short of the final four spots, she was very happy with how the San Marcos beach volleyball season went.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better season and a better group of girls,” she said. “They came to practice every day and challenged each other to get better. They're all very positive and excited about the challenge of the season and want to take on it and show what the Royals can offer.” I really wanted it.
“The first season was beyond our wildest dreams.”