Sandra Day O'Connor, Salpointe Catholic repeat as Arizona HS beach volleyball champions

Different year, same results for high school beach volleyball.

Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor and Tucson Salpointe Catholic repeated as Division I and II state beach volleyball champions in Wednesday's AIA state finals.

One match showed complete dominance, the other featured a big comeback. Here's a rundown:

O'Connor's dominance on display

The No. 1 Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles won its 3rd straight title, defeating No. 2 Queen Creek in a 3-0 sweep in Wednesday's D-I championship match at Casteel High School, in a rematch from last year's state final. The Eagles finished the season 16-0, including four playoff sweeps.

O'Connor pair Kate Smith and Natalie Gilbert sealed the deal for the Eagles, winning both their sets 21-10 and 21-19.

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Prior to that, the Eagles' No. 1 tandem of Piper Rama and Devyn Wiest downed Queen Creek's No. 1 of Elle Evers and Tatum Riggs, 21-19, 21-12. That was followed by O'Connor pair Iana Loera and Kinsley Singleton winning their match.

Eagles' Coach Lauren Spartz credited the entire roster for the team's success.

"These girls worked hard all season and knew to be together and play for each other," said Spartz. "They proved that they had each others' back. The seniors did an amazing job leading this group, it was fun watching them grow, and now it's time to celebrate our hard work."

Salpointe dynasty continues

No. 3. Tucson Salpointe Catholic defeated No. 5 Flagstaff 3-2 on matches to win their fourth straight title in Division II.

It wasn't easy for Salpointe, as they fell behind 0-2 early after Lancer's pairs Lauren Jones and Grace Utz fell to Flagstaff's Nidaya Nez and Brynn Hagerman in overtime. That was followed by the Eagles' pair of Lillian Hartman and Gabby Saucedo-Salas defeating Eleanor Sharp and Kiki Muehlebach, also in overtime.

With the state title on the line, the Lancers had to rely on their last three matches to win. Here's how they pulled it off:

Salpointe's No. 3 pair, Chloe Zhang and Hannah Kynaston, won both sets 21-18 and 21-12, over Flagstaff's Peighton Killeen and junior Ava Collins. Right after that, No. 1 pair seniors Sophia Hernandez and Megan Muehlebach won their sets 21-16 and 21-13, over juniors Macie Moseng and Sophie Krassner of Flagstaff, tying the overall match at 2-2.

For the state title, the Lancers No. 5 pair, Amelia Bartfalvi and Nicole Monge won both sets 21-16 and 21-13 over Kaylee Wilson and Cydnie Henes.

Head coach Heather Moore-Martin never doubted her team could come back.

"A lot of gratitude towards this team," said Moore-Martin. "The work that these girls put in was on full display today. Records didn't matter today. Flagstaff come prepared today and gave us everything they had. After going down 0-2, I realized we're going to have to show a real fight, in which it showed and I'm glad that we didn't give up despite the odds."

(Includes information from the AZPreps 365).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sandra Day O'Connor, Salpointe Catholic repeat as Arizona HS beach volleyball champions