The El Camino College’s women’s beach volleyball team lost 5-0 to Mt. San Antonio College on Friday, March 20, but several closely contested matches, including the only three-set battle for the No. 3 doubles, highlighted the Warriors’ improvement despite the sweep.
ECC No. 3 pair Justine Sapitanan and Ava Ober played the three-set doubles match to break a tie against Bella Fairley and Jasmyn Stampley of Mt. SAC.
Mt. SAC got the better of the first set, winning 21–19, while ECC rallied with a 21–17 victory in the second set. The deciding set was tight, ending with a score of 15–13 in a match that could have gone either way.
“I think the biggest challenge was trying to cut down on our errors, because I feel like we could have beaten the other team, but we ended up making too many mistakes,” said Sapitanan.
Still, Sapitanan felt there were positives to take away, particularly regarding communication.
“I believe a key factor was the fact that we talked a lot more than I usually do with my partner,” she said.
El Camino gained momentum late in the second set, but the dynamic shifted near the end when Ober injured her hand.
“It hurts, but I think it’s going to be fine,” said Ober. “It’s just a muscle strain. It was just a matter of bad timing.”
ECC women’s beach volleyball head coach Liz Hazell said the team’s progress was evident compared to their previous matchup against Mt. SAC, even if the final score didn’t reflect it.
The last time ECC played Mt. SAC was on Friday, Feb. 27, when Mt. SAC walked away with a 4-1 victory.
“They are a great team. I think we played much better than the first time we faced them, so I’m happy to see our growth and evolution,” she said.
Hazell also identified the execution of plays during the decisive moments of matches as an area where the team still needs to work.
“The major challenge is to have a bit more precision in executing plays during the final stretch of games,” she said.
UP NEXT
The El Camino College women’s beach volleyball team will play two home matches against College of the Desert and Long Beach City College on Friday, March 27 as part of Week 5 of the South Coast Conference.
