Pirates Sink Corsairs 4-1 in Beach Volleyball
Having lost 4-1 to the Ventura Pirates earlier in the season, the Santa Monica Corsairs lose by the same score once again on Friday, April 13 in the last home game of the season. The game was held at 9 a.m. on the Santa Monica beach right off of Ocean Park Blvd, where consistent wind brought good swells for surfers in the area, but caused athletes to be on their toes.
With five concurrent matches being held, the courts are ordered in terms of skill. Court one brought the only win for the Corsairs and consisted of Megan Yoon (#11) and Chelsea Bostwick (#3), who won the first set, and after losing the second, won the third set 15-8.
Yoon, having played beach volleyball last year, is currently one of the top players on the team. “We figured it out towards the end of the second match, and we pulled through in the third,” Yoon said. “I thought we did really well adjusting to their play.”
Court two held the only other match to go for three sets with Corsairs Ada Nadzakova (#13) and Taylor Burks (#12). After winning the first set with a close score of 21-19, they failed to carry on and the Pirates took the win.
Head coach Dan Freeman, while disappointed with the loss for the day, has seen a lot of improvement over the season as many of the athletes haven’t played, given it’s only the second time offered at the college. “We have a term, ‘finding your sand legs,’ and so it looks like we’re doing a really good job of finding our sand legs,” Freeman said. “It’s tough to jump in and play against a school that’s had a program for three or four years, but the fact we’re competing is a good sign for coming years.”
Bostwick is one of the athletes who is playing on the beach for the first time. She has experience in indoor volleyball but finds playing outside to be a lot better. “It was a rough transition in the beginning to the sand, but now that we’re adjusting to it, it’s been so much fun,” Bostwick said.
The first of two games played on April 13, the Corsairs went on to lose 5-0 to Bakersfield College. The Corsairs will end the season on Friday, April 20, with two away games against both Bakersfield and Antelope Valley College.