‘Locked in’ Clairemont beats Mar Vista to advance in CIF beach volleyball playoffs – San Diego Union-Tribune

Peaking at the perfect time, No. 3 Clairemont won all five matches against No. 14 Mar Vista at home, advancing Thursday in the CIF-San Diego Section Division 2 girls beach volleyball playoffs.

The Chieftains advance to host No. 11 Patrick Henry in Tuesday’s quarterfinals after the Patriots upset No. 6 Olympian.

“The girls were locked in. This is probably the best I’ve seen them play all year,” said Chieftains coach Spencer Wade, who is in his first year in the program.

Clairemont’s Alanna Larsen and Ellie Deleon used an 8-0 run in the first set, coming out of a timeout to take an 18-11 lead to win the set, 21-14, against Mar Vista’s Anissa Smith and Jimena Barquin.

“(Ellie) knew that she had to serve tough in order to get a big lead,” Larsen said. “I told her to take risks. She served on the line and served in really hard spots, which made it hard for the other team.

“We stayed calm and made sure that no mistakes were made.”

In the second set, Larsen and Deleon used a 10-0 run to take a 12-3 lead to win 21-14.

Meanwhile, the No. 5 pairs squared off as Clairemont’s Althea Rell Limosnero and Lauren Meyer-Lauda defeated Mar Vista’s Sophia Gonzales and Brixshainne Sulapat in straight sets, 21-4, 21-8.

That gave the Chieftains (14-4) a critical 2-0 lead in the dual match heading into the final three pairings against the Mariners (8-6).

The Chieftains’ Carly Harris and Shannon Campion took down Natalia Garcia Chavez and Madison Sigmund in straight sets, 21-19, 21-13. That gave Clairemont a dual match win; however.

Clairemont’s Anika Barley and Samarah Stanley defeated Mar Vista’s Isabel Sevilla and Carmine Rendon in a battle of the No. 4 pairings in straight sets, 21-6, 21-14.

The matchup between both schools’ top pair was a different story. Mar Vista’s Melissa Esquivel and Sephril Vismonte took the first set against Clairemont’s Molly Mullen and Lola Friend, 21-15.

“When we get down, I always think about, ‘We’re going to have an amazing comeback right now. They’re not ready for it and then we’re going to take the day,’” Friend said.

Friend and Mullen used that adversity and turned it into momentum, using a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead, en route to winning the second set, 21-13.

After Clairemont scored the first two points of the third set, Mar Vista took control, leading 8-6. However, Friend and Mullen scored the next four points as part of a 9-3 run to finish off an undefeated playoff win.

“I think we take a second, think about what we’re doing, and start to play our game, like how we know how to play, going back to our fundamentals,” Friend said on settling down in the second set. “Then once we start getting a lead, we take it. We start doing more risky things and playing harder.”