Warriors to Play for First Cal Pac Title

By BRANDON PETERSEN

Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, the Westcliff women's beach volleyball team will play for the university's first Cal Pac championship, thanks to a 3-0 win over Saint Katherine Friday in the tournament semifinals.

Once No. 1 tandem Sierra Lim and Gianna Guinasso won their match making the score 3-0, the two remaining matches were cut short, and Westcliff celebrated their championship berth on Lim and Guinasso's court.

"This feels great," Westcliff head coach Kenny Ma said. "We're very proud of our program for being able to accomplish this, but this isn't just for our program, this is for the entire school.

"This wasn't just to put Westcliff Beach Volleyball on the map, this was to put Westcliff University on the map, and we're definitely happy we were able to do that."

The other two wins came from No. 2 Kylie Cordero and Brooke Scheidle, and, impressively, Maddie Shepston and Ava Wright, who were able to bounce back from their loss to USK Thursday to win in straight sets Friday. 

It was the Warriors' fourth win against tournament host Saint Katherine on the season, a fact that Guinasso pointed out afterward is no easy feat.

But Westcliff has been making the difficult look routine all year.

"Very proud of Maddie and Ava," Ma said. "They had the loss yesterday against Saint Katherine and today it was huge for them learn from the loss, make the changes, and come back to get the win today."

No. 5 Elise Brown and Kenidi MacDonald, and No. 3 Megan Yoon and Elena Eckhardt were the duos whose matches were cut short after Westcliff secured the win. 

Westcliff Dean of Athletics Shawn Harris came out to root the team on and had several words of encouragement for the squad afterward.

"Our girls knew what was on the line today," Ma said. "We understood that Saint Katherine didn't want to lose to us four times. We focused on what we drew up before the game and just executed."

The Warriors will face off against Corban University out of Oregon in the championship match.

Corban and Bushnell University were invited to participate in the Cal Pac championships as independent West Coast NAIA teams.

The winner of the Cal Pac Championship is awarded an automatic berth in the NAIA national championship tournament. 

Three automatic bids and three at-large berths will be awarded.

If you are looking to make the trip down to Chula Vista for the championship game, you will find the Elite Athlete Training Center at 2800 Olympic Pkwy, Chula Vista, CA 91915.

Take a left after the main entrance and park in the lot. The beach volleyball courts are down the hill. Follow the Cal Pac signage along the walking path.

Come early, and be loud, this one is for all the marbles. 

To contact Brandon Petersen, e-mail brandonpetersen@westcliff.edu.