Beach Volleyball Splits Opening Day at East Beach

By Jimmy Friery

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Beach Volleyball team began their season hosting the SBCC Quad at East Beach on Friday, splitting their matches between Hartnell (4-1 win) and Fresno (4-1 loss).

"I'm incredibly proud of our effort and grit today," head coach Ariana Garner said. "Despite battling injuries and illness throughout the week, our group competed hard, stayed together, and showed a lot of heart."

Fresh off the indoor season, No. 2 pair Kaylin Cooney and Madison Genasci got the Vaqueros off to a hot start against Hartnell. After a dominate 21-7 first set, they wrapped it up with a 21-16 second. Freshmen Abigail Stenz and Guilia Sophie Gentile similarly won on court three, 21-13, 21-8.

The other three matchups all went three sets, two of them resulting in gritty Santa Barbara victories. 1s team Lina Husek and Maddie Papia came back to win 18-21, 21-14, 15-13, while 4s team Stephanie Groswirt and Camryn Chapman also went the distance—21-11, 20-22, 16-14—wrapping up the Santa Barbara victory. Daniela Diaz and Juliette Dekker fought valiantly on court five, ending with a 21-13, 11-21, 15-9 scoreline.

Later, in the last of four team matches of the day, the Vaqueros faced 2025 State finalist Fresno after the latter's 5-0 victory over Bakersfield to start the day. The guests showed their prowess as Groswirt/Chapman were the only Vaquero duo to win, which they did 21-12, 21-15.

Diaz/Dekker took their matchup to three sets, but ultimately fell 18-21, 21-18, 15-8. The top three Vaquero pairs all were defeated in straight sets.

"We learned a lot from this performance and took important steps forward as a team," Garner added. "We have a strong group, and we're excited to continue growing and improving each week. We're looking forward to getting back to work with a full, healthy week of practice and competing again [next Friday]."

The Vaqueros hit the road to Long Beach at the end of next week, playing hosts Long Beach and then Orange Coast back-to-back beginning at 11 a.m.

Match one: Santa Barbara def. Hartnell 4-1

1s: Husek/Papia (SBCC) def. Luna/Robets (HC) 18-21, 21-14, 15-13
2s: Cooney/Genasci (SBCC) def. Walter/Cunningham (HC) 21-7, 21-16
3s: Stenz/Gentile (SBCC) def. Cornejo/Royal (HC) 21-13, 21-8
4s: Groswirt/Chapman (SBCC) def. Hagleitner/Boykin (HC) 21-11, 20-22, 16-14
5s: Leleua/Wilson (HC) def. Diaz/Dekker (SBCC) 21-13, 11-21, 15-9

Match two: Fresno def. Santa Barbara 4-1

1s: Castanada/Castanada (FCC) def. Husek/Papia (SBCC) 21-19, 21-11
2s: Andrews/Iversen (FCC) def. Cooney/Genasci (SBCC) 21-17, 21-7
3s: Waites/Weiss (FCC) def. Stenz/Gentile (SBCC) 21-14, 21-14
4s: Groswirt/Chapman (SBCC) def. Davis/Gleason (FCC) 21-12, 21-15
5s: Soares/DeRuiter (FCC) def. Diaz/Dekker (SBCC) 18-21, 21-18, 15-8