In a weekend dominated by close play throughout, the final matches of the California Community College Athletic Association Beach Volleyball Pairs State Championship were no different.
It was Irvine Valley's sophomore duo of Emily Reinking and Hailee Earnest that played the toughest and earned the title at Grossmont College on Sunday.
Reinking and Earnest earned their second straight individual titles.
Reinking teamed with Annie Mitchem to win the No. 2 pairs state title a year ago, while Earnest teamed with Samantha Holdredge to win the No. 3 pairs championship.
With the event down to just one tournament bracket featuring all of the best pairs team in the state, Reinking and Earnest, who were seeded third, won five matches over two days to take the title.
They beat Breanna Kirklen and Kyra Hendersen from MiraCosta, 21-16, 21-16, in a quarterfinal match on Saturday morning and then defeated the Cabrillo team of Morgan Ehritt and Erin Mitchell, 21-12, 21-16, in the semifinals. Ehritt and Mitchell were seeded second.
The championship match came down to Reinking and Earnest against MiraCosta's top team of Brianna Sizemore and Cady Francis. Sizemore and Francis were seeded fourth.
The IVC pair won, 21-15, 21-18. Reinking and Earnest used a 12-3 run in the middle of the second set to take control.
Reinking and Earnest had defeated the MiraCosta tandem in straight sets last Tuesday in a team regional.
Reinking and Earnest proved to be the dominant team over the weekend going 8-0 without dropping a set on its way to the championship.
The duo, which had won the Orange Empire Conference pairs title two weeks ago, also swept all of their opponents in straight sets over the weekend in Grossmont.
Irvine Valley's other two teams of freshman Carlee Roethlisberger and sophomore Hannah Matt and sophomore Kayla Scheevel and freshman Olivia Aguilar also had good showings.
Roethlisberger and Matt won two matches before falling in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Scheevel and Matt won a match on Saturday before falling to the second-seeded team of Ehritt and Mitchell of Cabrillo in three sets.
Results
Quarterfinals
8 vs 17: #8 Rademacher/Puga (GC) 2-0 over #17 Hughes/Holmes (FRC) (25-23, 21-12)
4 vs 21: #4 Sizemore/Francis (MCC) 2-0 over #21 Roethlisberger/Matt (IVC) (21-17, 21-8)
2 vs 7: #2 Ehritt/Mitchell (Cab) 2-1 over #7 Hogan/Pineda (GWC) (21-15, 13-21, 15-13)
3 vs 27: #3 Reinking/Earnest (IVC) 2-0 over #27 Kirklen/Henderson (MCC) (21-16, 21-16)
Semifinals
4 vs 8: #4 Sizemore/Francis (MCC) 2-1 over #8 Rademacher/Puga (GC) (21-17, 19-21, 15-9)
2 vs 3: #3 Reinking/Earnest (IVC) 2-0 over #2 Ehritt/Mitchell (Cab) (21-12, 21-16)
Final
3 vs 4: #3 Reinking/Earnest (IVC) 2-0 over #4 Sizemore/Francis (MCC) (21-15, 21-18)
Information provided by Chris Huerta, CCCSIA
