CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The top two teams in the country will battle it out once again in the Championship match of the Cal Pac Conference Tournament, as the No. 1-ranked Corban University Beach Volleyball team (19-3) earned their fifth-consecutive victory and second-straight over Park University Gilbert (6-11) by a play-to-decision score of 3-1, setting up a revenge rematch in the 2023 Cal Pac Tournament Championship, the same match that No. 2 Westcliff University (17-3) defeated the Warriors in last year with a narrow 3-2 decision.

"Park did a great job adjusting their gameplan against us and they were ready to come full force at us today," Corban Head Coach Diana Villalpando said following her team's semifinal win. "I'm proud that they were able to pull out the victory."

She carried on by sharing her thoughts on their upcoming match with No. 2 Westcliff by stating, "I'm excited to see how tomorrow plays out. It's going to be an absolute battle for sure, that's why these athletes do what they do. It's time to compete."

Moving into bracket play, the Cal Pac Conference mirrored the same format of play as teams will see at the national tournament by "playing to decision", meaning the first team to win three pairs will end the match and halt all progress in any other pairs still playing. With Corban taking the match in four pairs, the third overall pairs were unable to complete their match, one in which senior Kealani Ontai and sophomore Maya Blake were leading one set to none.

An 18-3 overall record and sweeping their way through pool play earned Corban the No. 1-seed in bracket play, where they took advantage of their first-round bye while the remaining teams continued to play this morning by resting up and putting the "student" in student-athlete.

Once it was finally time for the No. 1-ranked Warriors to take the court, they didn't take long to show why they've owned the top ranked nationally spot for the entirety of the 2023 regular season, as the Warriors' second pair, juniors Kianna and Cameron Keeling, and fourth pair, senior Ally Schmidt and sophomore Jessica McMillian, made quick work of their Buccaneer opponents in two-straight sets each.

Park Gilbert was able to earn a match point in the fifth pair, but two points later in the top overall pairs, the Warriors secured their spot in the championship bout, as senior Avari Ridgway and sophomore Megan Dennis clutched out a 2-0 decision by breaking a 19-all tie with two consecutive points.

The full results from today's matchups can be found below:

Corban 3, Park Gilbert 1

1. Megan Dennis and Avari Ridgway def. Georgia Romine-Black and Grace Baker (21-11, 21-15)

2. Cameron Keeling and Kianna Keeling def. Annika Wallace and Megan Hicks (21-15, 21-19)

3. TRUNCATED Maya Blake and Kealani Ontai / Jasmine Urban and Brittlee Harper (21-15,

Corban)

4. Ally Schmidt and Jessica McMillian def. Samantha Wasmuth and Brooke Beresford (21-12,

21-19)

5. Avery Turk and DeLaney Poling def. Jolinn Daviscourt and Kalisi Latu (21-18, 21-18)

6. Tyra Ching and Emmi Marks def. Daniella Miranda-Johnson and Mallory Turner (21-14, 21-9)

Order of Finish: Doubles (6,2,4,5,1)

The two remaining Warrior squads will kick off their championship matchup in an early 9am PDT start time tomorrow, with the winner claiming the Cal Pac Championship trophy and an automatic berth to the NAIA National Invitational Tournament. How ever the match plays out tomorrow morning, the runner-up will surely receive an at-large bid to the tournament for an incredible pair of seasons that these two teams have accomplished thus far.

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