By Brandon Petersen
This is the one we've all been waiting for.
NAIA nationally ranked No. 1 vs. No. 2
Warrior a Warrior.
The championship match of the 2023 Cal Pac women's beach tournament and NAIA West Regional Qualifier is set to go down at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista.
Both No. 1 Corban of Oregon and No. 2 Westcliff handled their semifinal in sweep fashion Friday afternoon.
In fact, the Warriors of Irvine only finished six games all day, as they swept aside both Ben U and Saint Katherine in three games each, truncating the remaining two in both the morning and afternoon.
Marine Kinna and Fiona Moesching are playing so well, you can overhear conversations about them as you stroll through the sand, passing clusters of onlooking opponents.
Phrases like "They're so good," and "You can't beat it," are routinely passed back and forth in hushed, awed tones.
The Warriors were so good in the morning session, Kinna and Moesching didn't even get to finish.
Against USK, however, Kinna and Moesching ended it, setting up tomorrow's championship.
The duo beat USK's talented tandem of Giulia Ledda and Alexcis Morris, 21-17, 21-11.
"(The match) went really well," Kinna said. "It's hard to play a team three times, and especially (USK's) ones — I know they really wanted to beat us.
"They had a good first game, they kind of surprised us with their offense, but we were able to pick it up really fast."
Wanting to take the match one point at a time, Kinna said herself and Moesching played well together once again Friday afternoon.
The pair's chemistry has been building all season, and Kinna, who hails from Guethary, France, says she loves playing alongside the freshman from Wettingen, Switzerland.
"Fiona is awesome," Kinna said. "An awesome teammate, an awesome learner — she's the best partner I could ask for, honestly.
"She was so raw coming into the season, but she was so motivated to get better. And now, just seeing her happy, and having that anger to win, is so amazing.
"I am proud to play with her."
Gianna Guinasso and Mia Scheepens typically set the tone for each of the Warriors' matches at No. 2, because they play first.
Friday was no different.
The pair took care of Ben U, 21-18 and 21-10, to open morning play.
In the afternoon, they took down USK's Gabby Alexander and Casside Salcido, 21-16 and 21-18.
Sabrina Galassi and Maddie Shepston were truncated in the morning, but in the afternoon, they blazed past Courtney Ely and Amanda Lopez, 21-10, 21-16.
"I have a quote that (head coach) Tim (Maruyama) tried stealing from me," Guinasso said. "So, I said, 'Most importantly, we are all equals, whether we get to wear a jersey this weekend or not, your posture, personality and participation matter. Fight for each other.'
"I think that was really huge for us going into the match. We call it the 'Three P's' now, (Coach) tried to claim it."
Coming into the USK match, Westcliff was without Faith Webb, who injured her elbow in the morning while diving for a ball alongside teammate Luise Palenczat.
Westcliff was also without the services of Lina Elila, who was fighting off an illness.
No matter.
The Warriors called upon Serena Comer and she shined alongside Palenczat, the duo making quick work of the Firebirds, 21-16, 21-16.
Palenczat and Webb beat Ben U, 21-17, 21-7.
"We had a huge curveball thrown at us, and I said, 'We need to remember the name across our chest,'" Guinasso said. "I'm so proud of the people who showed up and played. It wasn't everyone's best game, but they found ways to better their game.
"We're not peaking — we're on the uphill still, which I'm stoked for. We talk about brick by brick, and I'm very excited to knock down Corban tomorrow. I think it's much needed."
Guinasso was asked if the Warriors feel like underdogs.
"I had maybe four to five players from each school who played today come up to me and say, 'We were so happy to play you guys this year, and we want you guys to beat Corban so bad.'" Guinasso said. "So it felt like, 'Wow, like, we actually have a crowd, you know?'
"So it's like, maybe we aren't the underdogs. We're definitely an underdog at NAIA, but I think we've proved ourselves."
Both Kinna and Guinasso were asked to preview Saturday's showdown with the reigning NAIA national champion.
"Corban is going to play great," Kinna said. "They look good, I expect a good battle,— good volleyball on both sides.
"The best will come out of it tomorrow. I hope it's us. We definitely need to prepare and come confident. Just get all of our energy out tomorrow."
While Kinna refused to provide any bulletin board material for the Warriors of the Pacific Northwest, Guinasso grinned a wry smile and took a different approach.
"We're ready to go," she said. "They have a lot of— They're very— They have a lot of overconfidence — I'll say that.
"But we're confident and ready to knock them down. I don't think they've seen as many challenges as we have. Especially with the D1 we get to play in California versus the D1 they get to play.
"So, we're ready to throw a wrench in their little perfect plan."
Ring the bell.
It's Title Bout time.
