January 26, 2022
Women's Beach Volleyball Season Preview
By: SID Chase Dodge
Women's Beach Volleyball is set to begin their 2022 campaign in February. We sat down with Head Coach Kenny Ma in his 2nd year as head coach of the program. We asked him a few questions about the team and the upcoming season here is what he had to say
1. Well, a year has passed since we last did this, and we had absolutely no BeachVB games that have happened. What was that year like, both for you, and for your players and coaches?
- It has felt like the longest year ever with absolutely no beach volleyball matches in 2021. It was a bit devastating for our program as our team was looking like we would be a national championship contender. We had a stacked roster with the best chance of winning a national championship & conference championship so it was devastating when we couldn't compete & our top 5 players were no longer returning due to graduation. Though it was a missed opportunity, our program's goal will always strive towards winning championships.
2. There are a ton of newcomers to the team heading into next season, please highlight two or three of them and talk about what they bring to the team and to the school.
- There are several newcomers to the team that will make an impact immediately. Gianna Guinasso is going to be one of our most experienced players on the team as she is a grad-transfer from the University of Hawaii where she was on both the indoor & beach program. She is a fiery competitor mixed with a positive attitude which is a lethal combination! Freshman Ava Wright will be someone to be a lookout for as she is going to surprise a lot of opponents with her quickness on defense & crafty shot selections.
3. You also have a few returners who will be asked to fill some pretty big shoes, talk about some of those returners whose names we may not be familiar with yet, but we will be by the end of the season.
- Kylie Cordero, Elena Eckhardt, & Megan Yoon are a few of our talented returners who will be asked to fill some pretty big shoes after losing several of our top players in 2021. Kylie is an athletic player who has a lot of knowledge of the game & knows how to win. Elena is a very physical player who can absolutely demolish the ball. Megan Yoon is a speed demon & will frustrate opponents with her ability to pick up any ball.
4.Talk about your team captains this year, who are your leaders and why are they your leaders?
- We've just started practicing this week so we haven't had the opportunity to see which leaders will step up naturally. Once we get into the groove, I'm certain that we will have these leaders rise to the surface.
5.Talk about the schedule coming up this year, what are some opponents we should be looking forward to facing?
- We have a very competitive schedule for this upcoming spring with 4 matches against Division 1 schools. Some opponents that we should look forward to facing are Vanguard on 4/1/22 & Saint Katherine on 3/19 & 3/31.
6.Talk about heading into Cal Pac and NAIA play, how exciting is it for your players to see how they stack up in conference play?
- It is very exciting for our players to finally see how we stack up against our opponents in the Cal Pac. This is our second year in the conference, however we did not get the chance to compete last season.
Women's Beach Volleyball season will begin with a couple of scrimmages against Life Pacific, The Master's and San Diego Christian on 2/2-5.