Beach Ends Season at State Championships

By Jimmy Friery

WALNUT, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Beach Volleyball team ended their season at the State Championships this Thursday and Friday hosted by Mt. San Antonio College. The Western State Conference (WSC) champions can hold their heads high with a 19-7 overall record on the year.

In the six-team State tournament, the South No. 4 seed Vaqueros were drawn into Pool A with South No. 1 MiraCosta and North No. 2 Feather River.

First against MiraCosta, the Vaqueros fell on courts one and three—the latter being a tight 21-19, 21-19 contest. Camryn Chapman and Stephanie Groswirt got the team their first point, though, winning 21-16, 21-18 on court four.

No. 2 pair Kaylin Cooney and Sophie Ward won their second set 21-16 to force a third, and No. 5 pair Giulia Sophie Gentile and Juliette Dekker won their first 21-19 before dropping the second. Unfortunately for Santa Barbara, both pairs lost their decisive third set, ceding the match 4-1.

Immediately after, against Feather River, four of the five matches finished in sweeps. While Tana Long and Lina Husek won 21-15, 21-18 on court three, three other Vaquero pairs fell, solidifying the result. No. 4 Chapman/Groswirt won again—18-21, 21-15, 15-6—completing the five matches and resulting in the 3-2 final score.

MiraCosta ended up topping the pool with a 3-2 win over Feather River, but they fell to Fresno City 3-0 in the State Championship match.

Santa Barbara also sent two pairs to the State Pairs Championship on Friday—team No. 1 Abigail Stenz/Maddie Papia, and Tana Long/Sophie Ward. Neither pair was able to make it out of their pool to advance to the Round of 16.

In 2026, the Vaqueros continued their now five-year streak of earning at least one of a WSC Team or Pairs championship. Not bad for a program that has only been competing for six full seasons.

Match one: MiraCosta def. Santa Barbara 4-1

1s: Heflin/Keibel (MCC) def. Stenz/Papia (SBCC) 21-7, 21-12
2s: Szajkowski/Wondercheck (MCC) def. Cooney/Ward (SBCC) 21-17, 16-21, 15-7
3s: Mitchell/Osborne (MCC) def. Long/Husek (SBCC) 21-19, 21-19
4s: Chapman/Groswirt (SBCC) def. Kilaulani/Komadina (MCC) 21-16, 21-18
5s: Snow/Musolf (MCC) def. Gentile/Dekker (SBCC) 19-21, 21-11, 15-10

Match two: Feather River def. Santa Barbara 3-2

1s: Gibbs/Rivera (FRC) def. Stenz/Papia (SBCC) 21-11, 21-19
2s: Albiez/Williams (FRC) def. Cooney/Ward (SBCC) 21-18, 21-17
3s: Long/Husek (SBCC) def. Arment/Faupula (FRC) 21-15, 21-18
4s: Chapman/Groswirt (SBCC) def. Manu/Beman (FRC) 18-21, 21-15, 15-6
5s: Curtis/Burrows (FRC) def. Gentile/Dekker (SBCC) 21-16, 21-16