Manhattan Beach’s Villapando places second at Queen of the Beach Invitational

Recent Mira Costa graduate and Stanford-bound Sunny Villapando finished second in a field of 64 girls at the Queen of the Beach Invitational in Hermosa Beach. Photo by Roland Villapando

 

Incoming Mira Costa senior Piper Monk-Heidrich finished 6th in the tournament.. Photo

One week following the festivities of graduating from Mira Costa High School, Sunny Villapando continued to celebrate when she kicked off the summer with a second-place finish in the high school division of the Queen of the Beach Invitational beach volleyball tournament Sunday in Hermosa Beach.

“Finishing second was an incredible experience,” said Villapando, who will be attending Stanford in the fall. “This tournament was by invitation only so the competition was the best in the country. I learned to be a better partner and figured out how to adapt to different skill levels and styles in general. Competing with another defender made me really think and strategize against the bigger blockers.”

In the field of 64 high school players, Villapando was runner-up to Paige Dreeuws, who was crowned Queen of the Beach. Dreeuws, a recent graduate of San Marcos High School in San Diego County will play for the University of Hawaii in the fall.

UCLA-bound Cami Sanchez (Huntington Beach High School) placed third and Lindsey Sparks, a Pepperdine commit who is entering senior year at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, finished fourth.

“My most memorable moment of the weekend was finishing in the final four after really tough battles against some of the top players,” Villapando added. “I feel honored by all of this and look forward to competing all summer before I leave for Stanford.”

In addition to the AVP Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach Opens, Villapando plans to compete at the AAU West Coast Jr. Olympics (July 18-21 in Santa Monica) with Mira Costa teammate Rio Frohoff and in the Beach Volleyball Clubs of America (BVCA) National Championships (July 10-13 in Hermosa Beach) with fellow Mustang Piper Moink-Heidrich.

Hosted by Mira Costa girls beach volleyball coach and Olympic gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana, the 2nd annual Queen of the Beach Invitational had the courts north of the Hermosa Beach Pier packed.

“The level of competition was awesome,” Fonoimoana said. “The girls played at a high level and many games were won by only two points. We had a few playoffs based on ties to see who would move on. It was high drama with great effort by all of the girls.”

Each player was seeded and placed into a pool of four, with each team playing games to 21. Playing with each of the other three players in her pool, the top two players in each pool, determined by their won-loss record and point differential, advanced to the next round. Action continued in that fashion until a “Queen of the Beach” was crowned for high school and college divisions.

Tulane-bound Rio Frohoff passes to former Mira Costa teammate Rochelle Scott during second-pool action. Photo

Many local players enjoyed success in the deep sands of Hermosa Beach. Joining Villapando with  Elite 8 finishes were Mira Costa’s Monk-Heidrich and Rochelle Scott.

Monk-Heidrich finished 6th and will be entering her senior year in the fall. She helped the Mustangs win the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League State Championship in the spring and feels playing in the Queen of the Beach tournament a good experience as she prepares for a busy summer honing her skills before playing for UCLA in 2018.

“I worked on communicating and being adaptable during this tournament since you play with so many different players,” Monk-Heidrich said. “I am playing in a lot of tournaments this summer including the CBVA tour stops and the Manhattan Beach AVP qualifier.”

Scott, who recently completed her sophomore year at Mira Costa, was one of the younger players competing in the high school division and placed 8th.

Along with finishing in the Elite 8, one of Scott’s highlights came during second-pool action when she and former Mustang teammate and Tulane-bound Rio Frohoff defeated Redondo’s Kyla Doig and her partner.

“I gained the confidence in myself knowing that I can compete at this level and hopefully compete in college,” Scott said. “Another highlight of the tournament for me was being able to play with different players that I might not have the opportunity to play with otherwise.”

In competition during the spring, Scott earned a bid to compete in the AAU West Coast Jr. Olympics and plans to play in as many AAU and CBVA tournaments as possible throughout the summer.

In the College Division, Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer was crowned Queen of the Beach outscoring Haley Halgren (USC), Mia Rivera (Arizona State) and Sammy Slater, a USC Commit who is entering her senior year at Ventura High School.

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