The varsity girls beach volleyball team (23-3) defeated the Cathedral Catholic Dons (14-2) on Saturday, securing their victory in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division tournament.
Varsity head coach Sean Pope shares the training techniques he implemented during practice to prepare for this game.
“[We] pretty much stuck to our game plan from the beginning of [the] season,” Pope said. “We did move some girls around, and we had them practice with other partners because we were thinking about making some changes in our finals. [We also tried] to keep them relaxed, and, you know, focus[ed] on the goal that we set for the beginning of the year, [which] was obviously to win [the] CIF championship.”
Pope encouraged this focus by emphasizing collaboration within the sport.
“Instead of being an individual sport, beach volleyball is a team sport,” Pope said. “Whoever we partner you with, you have to play your best and not worry about the other side of the court. [It] doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We just take care of business on our side of the court and do our thing.”
In last year’s CIF Open Division Championship, the Dons defeated the Falcons 3-2. The Falcons were also defeated in the 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 finals. This increased the desire of some players to move towards victory, such as the team captain Sam Krystkowiak (12), to defeat a long-standing rival.
“I feel like our dynamic [with Cathedral Catholic] was always very close,” Krystkowiak said. “The idea that they kept winning … was really good motivation this year because … we all kind of knew who our competition was.”
The tournament was divided into two rounds, with the second seed constituted by Aubrie Dingman (11) and Parker Herrin (10). Cathedral had switched their seeding prior to the tournament, placing their first seed in the second seed against Dingman and Herrin. The duo earned points from Herrin’s swings and Dingman’s court awareness, but ultimately lost 0-2.
The fifth seed, played by Jaycee Mack (11) and Lily Peto (9), won 2-1. Mack’s offense and kills paired with Peto’s hustle and reception of serves granted them the scores necessary to clinch their victory.
Pope shares the resilience he observed in Peto throughout the season and final.
“We made a change in the final,” Pope said. “We approached her and said, ‘hey, you know, we believe 100% that you’re going to be the best option to play in the five spot with Jaycee Mack. And we watched her just excel, and she’s going to be a different player moving forward because of the confidence she gained in that match. It was a very tight match, and she they served her a lot, a lot of pressure on her, and she absolutely stepped up to the occasion.”
Kate Casson (11) and Waian Turley (12) played the third game as the sixth seed, although this score did not count toward the final score.
The second round of the game was played by the first seed, Kelly Randolph (11) and Krystkowiak, who won 2-0. The aforementioned seed shift by the Dons meant Randolph and Krystkowiak were playing against the opposing second seed instead of the first.
“This whole year, we’ve been…practicing… just to be able to, like, beat [their first seed] in the finals,” Krystkowiak said. “So I think it was a little frustrating because they ended up switching their seeds around.”
Despite this change that Krystkowiak said “sandbagged” the game, her and Randolph maintained their typical pace to secure their victory.
“We… just knew, like, we had to do what we know how to do,” Krystkowiak said. “Just [being] quick and [getting] it over with. And like, just go and support everybody else, and…be there for everyone.”
Stella Delgadillo (11) and Isabella Brown (9) played in the fourth seed and lost 0-2.
The team’s third seed, consisting of Conner Oxberry (11) and Lilia Decker (11), secured the team’s victory in the fifth and final match. Oxberry and Decker were also named San Diego’s Athletes of the Week.
“The first [set] went super smoothly,” Oxberry said. “I think Lilia and I were playing super clean, and we weren’t making a lot of errors, and it was just kind of a fast pace. The momentum was really helping us.”
There were also moments within the game where the pair struggled.
“The second [set], it was more neck and neck. I think we may have been getting a little bit more in our heads, and we kind of just, like, weren’t [in] step. And then the third [set], I think we just went out with, like, all the fire, and we were just…super intense.”
Pope shares how he felt about the team’s ultimate victory.
“Watching the girls so happy … was really just gratifying,” Pope said. “But the honest feeling from all the coaches was just relief, you know, because we’ve worked so hard [and] tirelessly to grow the sport of beach volleyball in … Torrey Pines. It’s just so gratifying to see them play, and they worked hard. They deserve everything they got this year 100%.”
