Oaks Christian sweats out its first CIF-Southern Section beach volleyball title
The sun beating onto the sand at Long Beach City College wasn’t the only reason Julie Bennett was feeling the heat last weekend.
Due to a variety of circumstances, the Oaks Christian beach volleyball head coach only had nine confirmed players leading up to Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Final Four.
“We were sweating,” Bennett said.
Of course, when the Lions’ depth was ultimately tested in Saturday’s championship match, it delivered the program’s first sectional title.
The No. 5 duo of junior Ava Brittain and junior Kamryn Tifft won the decisive third set, 15-10, to break the tie and lift Oaks Christian to the Division 2 title, 3-2 over Capistrano Valley Christian, on Saturday afternoon.
“A little bit of adversity and the girls rallied around it,” Bennett said. “We were missing two (players) for sure that would have been in our lineup. ... They were able to stay focused and pull it off.”
One year after reaching the sectional semifinals, the Lions triumphed by edging Long Beach Wilson in the semifinals and Capistrano Valley Christian by matching 3-2 scorelines.
More: These three teams have the pitching depth to make a run in the CIF-SS baseball playoffs
“It was a long but wonderful day,” Bennett said.
The No. 1 team of sophomore Jady Mape and junior Hailey Wilson and the No. 3 team of freshman Ellie Hallinan and junior Paige Hansen were both undefeated on the day.
Mape-Wilson won 21-12, 21-9 and Hallinan-Hansen won 21-19, 21-12 in the final.
The day started early for Oaks Christian.
“I was actually pretty excited to get the 9 a.m. (semifinal),” Bennett said.
After a lengthy warmup, the Lions met to reflect on how they came to play for a championship.
More: Oak Park leads the way for local boys tennis teams in CIF-SS playoffs
“Why we play, the things we can control,” Bennett said. “Just about it being fun.”
The No. 3 team of junior Maggie Rhew and sophomore Sadie Kocur combined with Mape-Wilson and Hallinan-Hansen to deliver the three matches needed to advance.
“It was super tense,” Bennett said. “After, we had a time to debrief and scout the next match to see who we’d play.”
This was the second year of CIF-SS beach volleyball playoff competition. Capistrano Valley Christian returned to the Division 2 final, after falling 3-2 to Crean Lutheran in the inaugural tournament a year ago.
More: Camarillo, Oaks Christian, Agoura bring loaded bats into the CIF-SS softball playoffs
“They had that finals experience,” Bennett said.
But tied 2-2 in the final, Oaks Christian had Brittain and Tifft, who raced out to a 8-1 lead and didn’t blink when that early lead was reduced to 8-7.
“It came down to our (No. 5s),” Bennett said. “It’s all a blur.”
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oaks Christian sweats out its first CIF-SS beach volleyball title
