De Anza College hosted the 3C2A Northern California Women’s Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship on May 1 and 2, but its beach volleyball team did not play.
Alla Lutsiv (Folsom Lake No. 16) and Stacy Vorster (Folsom Lake No. 9) won the NorCal title for Folsom Lake College and will continue to the state championship in Mt. San Antonio College on May 7.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be able to offer our home, De Anza College, to all these schools from northern California, … to host this really prestigious event,” De Anza Athletic Director Ron Hannon said.
De Anza head beach volleyball coach Dawnis Guevara said De Anza could not compete because its pair fell one game short of qualifying.
However, Guevara said she was still very entertained with the “camaraderie and good competition.”
“We are always going to cheer for our Coast Conference teams, because those are the teams we play twice in the conference,” Guevara said. “We want one of our co-conference teams to win the majority of the games.”
Students from colleges across the region went to support their teammates.
“Now that we are playing here for the NorCal champs, it’s amazing,” Lacey Manzano, 19, defender (Monterey Peninsula No. 7) said. “The vibe is always so good.”
Players from the De Anza volleyball team volunteered at the event.
“It will be beneficial in the future when we have competing pairs and we get to play on our home courts,” Ester Alper, 23, molecular biology major (De Anza No. 11) said.
Catalina Barajas, 23, business administration major (De Anza No. 14) said representing the college meant a lot to her.
“This is an incredible facility,” Molly Hummel, San Joaquin Delta head beach volleyball coach said. “It represents Northern California really well.”
Guevara said she “couldn’t be more proud” of the volleyball facility.
“This is the first year that we have had this facility,” Guevara said. “(Hosting NorCal championships) has been a blessing in the making.”
Guevara also said she is proud of the girls from her team, calling them “rock stars.”
“This is the best facility in the state,” Guevara said. “We are hoping to gain the attraction for elite-level beach volleyball players.”
Hannon said hosting the championships took a lot of time and planning.
“We are not done yet. There is more to come, a lot more surprises to come for it,” Hannon said.
3C2A Executive Director Jennifer Cardone said the facility is a potential host for next year’s 3C2A Beach Volleyball State Championships.
