CCCAA well-represented in AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championship match; A dozen former players are members of the two finalists

AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championship Results

TAVARES, Florida - The NAIA division of American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Volleyball Championships may have been held in Florida last week, but the event had a decidedly California flavor thanks to nine CCCAA alums who participated in the championship match captured by Ottawa University (Arizona), 3-2, over rival Vanguard University of Southern California.

Vanguard, which features Hally Herder (Orange Coast), Vashti Elias Romero (Riverside City) and Natalie Escher (Riverside City), was looking to beat Ottawa for the third time this season after besting the Spirit for the Golden State Athletic Conference title two weeks ago. The teams met for the national championship for the second time since 2019 and it was Ottawa, behind the lay of six former CCCAA players, that was able to bring home the crown for the second straight year.

Each of the five victories between the teams in the match featured CCCAA veterans. Katia Dizon (Gavilan) and Abbey Willison won their match in straight sets at No. 2 for Ottawa, while the north-south CCCAA duo of Isabel Mason (Irvine Valley) and Noel Chavarria (Gavilan) posted a come-from-behind 15-21, 21-16, 15-8 victory at No. 3 against Romero and her teammate Sydney Irwin. The Spirit's final win was picked up Mia Lara (Golden West) and Claire Nenniger at No. 3.

Escher paired with Conley Harris for an exciting 16-21, 21-16, 23-21 win at No. 1 against Viri Serrano (Santa Ana) and Katelyn Viray (Gavilan) to give Vanguard one of its two victories while Hally Herder (Orange Coast) joined teammate Kenzie Bouse for a straight-set win at No. 4 for the other.

In all nine former CCCAA standouts played in the championship match with three more CCCAA vets also members of the Ottawa team.

Chavarria was also recently honored as a member of the 2019-20 CCCAA Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll.

FORMER CCCAA PLAYERS ON AVCA SMALL COLLEGE BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS ROSTERS
OTTAWA UNIVERSITY
Feather River (1) - Cortney Blumenthal
Gavilan (4) - Noel Chavarria, Katia Dizon, Zoe Harada, Katelyn Viray
Golden West (2) - Andrea Gonzalez, Mia Lara
Irvine Valley (1) - Isabel Mason
Santa Ana (1) - Viri Serrano

VANGUARD UNIVERSITY
Orange Coast (1) - Hally Herder
Riverside City (2) - Vashti Elias Romero, Natalie Escher