The defending state champions are on the other side of the net.

They’re strong and the Warriors know it and Griffins know it and the audience knows it.

Taylor Brydon and Brooklyn Rubio make up the No. 2 beach volleyball pair from El Camino and were on the road against the Grossmont Griffins on Friday.

“Grossmont was definitely one of the best team’s we played all season,” Brydon said.

Brydon, who normally doesn’t block at the net, finds herself checking and covering each spot of the court.

Rubio is behind her making sure that no balls fall to the ground.

After some big blocks, big shots and some loose playing, the Brydon/Rubio pair find themselves with a hard-fought win, 22-20 and 21-18.

Rubio and Brydon have not lost a single match or even a single set this season.

The win against Grossmont would be all for naught as the defending state champion Griffins came out with a 4-1 win against the Warriors, handing them their first loss of the season.

The Griffins and Warriors would go on to beat Rio Hondo College improving to 9-0-1 and 9-1 respectively. Rio Hondo falls to 5-5 on the season.

“Micah and Michelle played super tight,” EC coach Le Valley Pattison said of her No. 1 pair. “Grossmont was good, but we didn’t play as loose and as fluid as we need to play.”

EC is in this year’s toughest conference, compared to last year when it went 15-1, with the only loss coming in the season finale.

Conference records as of March 18:

• The Western State Conference is 9-13 between five teams.
• The Coast Conference (which represents NorCal) is 7-8 between six teams.
• The Orange Empire is 19-31-1 between eight teams.
• The Pacific Coast (also El Camino’s conference) is 50-16-1 overall between eight teams.

Only the Pacific Coast is above .500 in the win percentage, but that just means the team can only get better.

“It’s a challenge,” sophomore Micah Hammond said. “It makes us get better instead of playing mediocre teams.”