Pirate pairs advance to state tournament
TORRANCE -- The fun continues for two Orange Coast College beach volleyball pairs as the duos of Kayla Ihrig/Sophie Vienna and Nika Safavi/Brynn Bisher earned spots at this weekend's 3C2A Beach Volleyball Pairs Championships after their strong performances at the Southern California Regional Tournament.
Ihrig/Vienna, seeded fourth at the SoCal Regional, worked their way though the bracket, using three consecutive straight-set wins and a semifinal forfeit to advance to the championship match. There, they defeated Ventura College's Viola Barrios/Shai Daniels, 21-19, 21-15 to win the event and earn the No. 1-seed at the 3C2A State Championships, which begin on Friday at 8 a.m. at Mt. San Antonio College.
The road to the regional title began when Ihrig/Vienna rolled to a 21-14, 21-16 win over San Diego Mesa's Mia Lundberg/Layla Folkers. Moving on to the Sweet 16 of the bracket, the Pirate pair rolled to a 21-15, 21-14 win over Santa Barbara City College's Tana Long/Sophie Ward.
In the quarterfinals, it was another two-setter as Ihrig/Vienna cruised to a 21-15, 21-12 win over Santa Monica City College's Sadie Town/Eden Lorin.
The SoCal crown moved Ihrig/Vienna up to the No. 1-seed out of the south as they begin their quest for a pairs state title. That journey begins on Friday at 8 a.m. against Moorpark College's Alesia Thomas and Natsune Makino. From there, they will continue pool-play action at 9:30 a.m. against Monterey Peninsula's Very Hojnacki/Hannah Child. In the pool-play finale, it'll be Ihrig/Vienna against Feather River's Avary Arment/Shelby Nussle.
It's been a spectacular run for Ihrig/Vienna and, according to Vienna, she gives a lot of the credit, unselfishly, to her playing partner. "To be honest, I owe everything to Kayla, that girl is the best beach volleyball player I've ever seen," Vienna said. "I'm guessing five years from now I'll be watching her in the AVP. But aside from being physically unstoppable, she's one of the kindest people I've ever met. She is the most positive and uplifting partner I've ever had, and I think we succeed because we both prioritize that energy on the court. I've struggled with some health issues this year, and I couldn't have gotten through it without her. She is an amazing person, and this isn't just something I'm saying as her partner. Kayla's kindness is even common knowledge in our entire conference, as she befriended all of our opponents. Players always came up after matches to say how much they enjoyed playing with us because of her energy."
Another Pirate pair -- Nika Safavi/Brynn Bisher -- will also be in the state championship bracket on Friday after earning a spot at regionals last weekend. The OCC duo, seeded 16th overall, kicks off their state run on Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Mt. SAC against Feather River's Chloe Albiez/Sumer Williams. The Coast pair earned the spot at state after surviving a hard-fought, three-set win over Grossmont's Kadence Doan/Sophia Neeley, 21-19, 19-21, 15-10 to reach the top-16 in the SoCal Regional bracket.
