Beach volleyball pairs set the table for bracket play to determine champions on Saturday
IRVINE - Cabrillo and a former state champion from Grossmont highlighted the first day of the California Community College Athletic Association State Pairs Championship on Friday at Irvine Valley.
Play started at 8 a.m. and went past 6 p.m. in deciding the 16 teams that will play in the round of 16 on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.
The round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place on Saturday. The final is expected to start between 2:30 and 3 p.m.
Cabrillo had three pairs move on. They are Ashleigh Souza and Alanna Patyk-Randa, Erin Eschelman and Lindsay Heller, and Shirley Morrison and Carly Ditz.
But the field is loaded on Saturday throughout the bracket.
Seven conference champion pairs teams are a part of the field, including former 2019 CCCAA State Pairs champion Lexi Morris, who is teamed with Madison Bogle. The Grossmont duo won the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title this year and won the three matches in its pool in straight sets.
Irvine Valley, which won the CCCAA team state title on Thursday, moved along two pairs
Jaclyn Sanchez and Emily Guenter captured their pool and advanced as did Jolie Rasmussen and Barett Nolan.
Those two duos shared the Orange Empire Conference pairs title recently for the Lasers.
Nine teams from the South and seven teams from the North advanced to day two in the event.
Other teams from the South included Santa Barbara City's Emma Crabbe and Kelissa Lemoine, Ventura's Savannah Marchese and Averi Carter, Cypress's Tainea Allen and Jordon Wilson, El Camino's Lauren McCarthy and Fayth Rascon, San Diego Mesa's Sophia Jarosz and Austia Mendiola and College of the Desert's Tyler Davis and Alexis Dempsey.
McCarthy and Rascon captured the South Coast Conference pairs title and Crabbe and Lemoine were winners of the Western State Conference title this year.
North teams also include Feather River's Taylor O'Reilly and Carissa Chainey, West Valley's Katie Kishton and Flor Porras, Monterey Peninsula's Kylee Moore and Theresa Ochoa and Sierra's Natalie Taggart and Corinne Williams.
Moore and Ochoa took the Coast Conference pairs title and Taggart and Williams were the Big 8 Conference champs.
(Brent Shaver, CCCSIA)