Torrance, Calif. – Mt. SAC Beach Volleyball enjoyed its most successful showing ever at the South Coast Conference Pairs Championships, held April 18–19 at El Camino College. The Mounties' No. 1 pair, Candace Ceballos and Madeline Castillo, advanced all the way to the championship match, narrowly falling in a thrilling three-set battle to Enaya Vaielua and Tyreana Allen of Long Beach City College: 17-21, 21-18, 15-17.

Ceballos and Castillo dominated their early rounds, starting with a convincing 21-14, 21-12 victory over Zoe Lekan and Zariah Honeycutt from El Camino College in the round of 16. They continued their strong play in the quarterfinals with a 21-11, 21-8 sweep of Leeya Rubio and Jose Navarro from Cerritos. In the semifinals, they powered past another El Camino pair, Aireon Scott and Tate Mercer, winning 21-16, 21-11 to secure their spot in the championship match.

Freda Lei and Itzel Aguayo, Mt. SAC's No. 2 pair, also made a strong showing. They opened their tournament with a win over Long Beach City's Rylee Tuaolo and Camille Agrupis, finishing 21-14, 21-19. However, they fell in the round of 16 in a hard-fought three-set match against Monserrat Rodriguez and Rosie Cazares-Gonzla from Cerritos: 23-21, 13-21, 6-15.

The Mounties' No. 3 pair, Emma Carson and Eva Fisher, were upset in their round of 16 matchup. After taking the first set against Cerritos' Brisa Cortez and Nayeli Salas Ortiz, they ultimately lost in three sets: 21-12, 11-21, 12-15.

Eva Becerra and Mayah Tiscareno, competing as Mt. SAC's No. 4 pair, advanced past the first round due to a forfeit by Zayda Jouan and Savannah Bush of College of the Desert. In the round of 16, Becerra and Tiscareno gave Long Beach City's eventual champions, Vaielua and Allen, a run for their money, but came up just short: 27-15, 14-21, 12-15.

Mt. SAC's No. 5 pair, consisting of Kaylin Mendoza and Jeanie Rhodes, put up a strong fight in their opening match. Despite forcing a third set, they were edged out by Bella Branconier and Stacie Alexander of College of the Desert with scores of 18-21, 21-17, 11-15.

NEXT UP:

The Mounties shift their focus to the SoCal Team Regionals on Tuesday, April 29. Stay tuned to our social media channels for more updates. Great job, ladies — keep the momentum going!

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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.