Girls’ beach volleyball makes waves in the 2024 season
After only two years as an official Samo sport, Samo girls’ beach volleyball team is gearing up for their third season in CIF. In their 2023 season, the team placed fourth in the Bay League after a tough loss against Mira Costa, Beverly Hills and Palos Verdes, but a successful win against Redondo. The girls began practicing on the sand immediately following the end of the indoor volleyball season under the guidance of Coach Liane Sato.
The team’s official season began on Feb. 21 in a game against Palos Verdes, which ended in a loss. Prior to this game however, there was one pre-season round-robin scrimmage against Long Beach Jordan, Peninsula and Gahr on Feb.7. These games gave the girls a headstart to the season and a chance to figure out their game play. In addition to this, the girls trained through running and coordination workouts and watched collegiate-level volleyball games at UCLA and LMU. Bibi Peterson (’24) reflects on the initial games of her last high school season.
“We did very well, especially considering we are playing really skilled teams. We’ve been really good about serving tough, which is critical,” Peterson said.
Following a non-league win against Marymount on Feb.22, the second official game of the season was on Feb. 28 against Beverly Hills which also ended in a victory. On March.3 the team lost against Mira Costa in a home game, and on March.12, will play against Beverly Hills again.
The varsity team consists of starters Peterson, Jane Robinson (’25), Jasmine Martinez (’26), Arianna Ballard (’26), Alex Neuman (’25), Jasmine Talledo (’25), Camille benoit (’25), Charlotte Wenneker (’27), Jordyn Scanell (’26) and Annika Lindquist (’25). As beach volleyball is only played with two players on each team, each pair of partners are chosen in the preseason and typically play together for the rest of the season, which creates a close bond between the players.
“The team dynamic is great, everyone really likes each other which is super important for doubles,” Peterson said.
Practicing from 2:30 to 4:45 everyday at the Ocean Park beach volleyball courts, the team follows an intensive schedule. Practices consist of scrimmages and drills, and often involve workouts as well – despite the sand already being a tough workout. With this practice however, the team is in good shape, and their successful start to the season is sure to be a foreshadowing of the upcoming games. The teams next and last home game is held on March.13 against Redondo Union, followed by one more away game on March.14, which will conclude the 2024 season before CIF.