Mt. SAC Looks To Defend South Coast Beach Volleyball Title

Current SCC 2024 Beach Volleyball Standings

Last year's South Coast Conference champion Mt. San Antonio College is vying to become the first squad to win back-to-back, SCC beach volleyball team titles since Long Beach City did it in the sport's first two seasons in 2018-19. 

Playing home matches at their new state-of-the-art, sand court stadium on campus, the Mounties are 12-1 overall, only losing to a 4-year university in NAIA Hope International on Feb. 2. Mt. SAC is 35-3 since the start of last season, and were knocked out of last year's Southern California Regionals by eventual 2023 3C2A state champ Grossmont in a close 3-2 loss.

Mt. SAC's toughest matches thus far v. community college foes have been v. Mt. San Jacinto from the PCAC, defeating the Eagles by 3-2 counts on opening day (Jan. 26), then again in a tri tourney at Santa Barbara CC on Feb.23. They also edged SBCC, 3-2, that day.

The Mounties opened the 6-team, conference race with a 5-0 win at College of the Desert on March 1. Mt. SAC's current top pair of Candace Ceballos and Angelina Griego were challenged, but swept COD's #1 and Bella Branconier and Melanie Hernandez, 21-14, 21-16. The pair is 5-1 since being paired together by head coach Samantha Neely a few weeks ago.

Long Beach (7-3) started SCC play by blanking Cerritos, 5-0. The Vikings top pair of Enaya Vaielua and Tainea Allen won v. the Falcons #1 duo of Jayda Harris-Amete and Leeya Rubio, 21-16, 21-15. The match was the first-ever South Coast contest for Cerritos beach volleyball.

LBCC has already beaten both of last year's state team finalists in downing Grossmont, 4-1, on Feb. 28 and Ventura, 5-0, a week earlier. Long Beach is guided by third-year head coach Tyler Jackson and the Vikings too play at a state-of-the-art facility for beach, opened in 2022.

Cerritos is 6-5 overall in their inaugural season (played as a club program in 2023) and had program firsts in a doubleheader sweep in their season-opening matches v. San Diego City, 3-2, and over host Golden West, 4-1, then hosted for the first time at the Belmont Shores facility in Long Beach in splitting matches v. Mt. San Jacinto (lost 3-2) and Riverside CC (won 4-1) on Feb. 9. The Falcons are directed by head coach Kari Hemmerling. 

Cerritos' Jayda Harris-Amete

El Camino (6-4 overall) began its SCC schedule with a 3-2 win over Rio Hondo as the Warriors' #1 pair of Ryan D'Angelo and Bridget Dorr defeated the Roadunners top squad of Jaida Zuniga and Jade Fuentes, 21-18, 21-9. ECC is led by its long-time beach and former, 2-time state champion indoor coach LeValley Pattison, who is being inducted into the 3C2A Hall of Fame at its annual convention held Mar. 27 in Sacramento.

Rio Hondo is off to a 9-3 start, including winning its first eight matches of the season. 

This year's SCC Individual Pairs Championships takes place at Mt. SAC on April 19-20. 

El Camino's #1 pair of Bridget Dorr (#4) and Ryan D'Angelo (#5).

 Release by Robert Lewis, SCC SID