By Brandon Petersen
It was a breezy day of pool play Thursday at the Elite Athletic Training Center in Chula Vista, where the Westcliff women's volleyball team showed why it's ranked No. 2 in America with a pair of sweeps over Southern Oregon and Bushnell.
The Southern Oregon match went down without a hitch as the Warriors didn't drop a set all morning long.
No. 1 Marine Kinna and Fiona Moesching picked up a 21-8, 21-12 win, while No. 2 Gianna Guinasso and Mia Scheepens turned in a 21-12, 21-18 win.
No. 3 Sabrina Galassi and Maddie Shepston won 21-17 and 21-15 and No. 4 Luise Palenczat and Faith Webb won 24-22 and 21-14.
Brooke Scheidle and Leanna Zamora turned in a 21-6 win in the first set, and the second set was not recorded, but rest assured, it was another victory.
"The girls played some awesome ball," Westcliff head coach Tim Maruyama said. "It's a new environment for us, it's a jumpier sand, which is great for our indoor girls.
"They came out to play. Have some fun. Hit some balls. And they did a really good job at it."
In the afternoon match, it was much of the same, save for the fours matchup, where Palenczat and Webb were pushed hard by Bushnell.
After dropping the first set, 20-22, Palenczat and Webb had to go to overtime to preserve the win in the second set, pulling it out at 27-25.
The duo took the third set, 15-13.
Kinna and Moesching won 21-10 and 21-12, and Guinasso and Scheepens won 21-11 and 21-15.
Galassi and Shepston won 21-15, 21-10, and Scheidle and Zamora won 21-17, 21-13.
In the sixes, Leonor Chambel and Rena Comer came up large with a 21-12, 21-17 win.
"The pool play was really just for fun," Maruyama said. "As long as everyone did their job, we were only going to stay in the No. 2 spot. Corban will stay in the No. 1 spot.
"We're excited to get a crack at them for the first time all season. Hopefully, that's going to be in the finals on Saturday.
"Tomorrow we start single-elimination. Every game matters, and we're excited. We're excited to have something on the line."
For those who don't remember, Corban is the team from Oregon that Westcliff outlasted in the Cal Pac tournament finals a year ago.
Corban went on to win the NAIA national championship in Florida, and are currently ranked No. 1 in America.
The Warriors of Corban and the Warriors of Westcliff have been on the fast track to a showdown all season long.
If the all-Warriors final does take place, all eyes will be on the No. 1 matchup.
"We've been waiting to play Corban all year," Maruyama said. "Our ones are so dialed. They're so ready. Marine is one of the best defenders in the country, regardless of what level we are talking about. She's world-class. And Fiona is a freshman who is absolutely balling. So, she's ready to play.
"They're ready, and they're going to win."
Westcliff kicks off bracket play with an 11 a.m. matchup with Benedictine Mesa Friday morning.
Cal Pac Conference Banquet
Wednesday night, the Cal Pac women's beach awards were handed out in Chula Vista, and — surprise — Westcliff came up large.
Here's the hardware the Warriors took home:
Cal Pac Player of the Year — Marine Kinna.
Cal Pac Pair of the Year — Marine Kinna and Fiona Moesching.
Cal Pac Coach of the Year — Tim Maruyama
All Cal Pac — Maddie Shepston, Marine Kinna, Fiona Moesching, Gianna Guinasso.
All Cal Pac Academic — Gianna Guinasso, Marine Kinna, Faith Webb.
