Edison girls’ beach volleyball edged by Bishop Montgomery in first CIF final

When the Edison girls’ beach volleyball team saw where they landed in the draw, the Chargers understood there was an opportunity in front of them that hadn’t been there before.

The CIF Southern Section put on its first beach volleyball championships in 2023, and in the first three years, Edison always found itself with a steep hill to climb in Division 1.

As the top seed in Division 2, the idea was that things could be different. The Chargers could make a run and enjoy the playoff success that had eluded them.

Edison made it through to the final, falling to Torrance Bishop Montgomery, 3-2, on Saturday at Long Beach City College. The Chargers became the first team from the Sunset League and one of five Orange County programs in the brief CIF history of the sport to reach a section final.

“It was amazing,” Edison coach Valinda Roche said. “In all the years that I’ve been coaching, we’ve always finished in Division 1, and then we ran into [No. 1 seed Manhattan Beach] Mira Costa [twice]. We’ll get two rounds, so this was really an opportunity to get all the way through. … It’s actually great for our program to have a finish like this.”

During its playoff run, Edison (12-4) earned victories over Capistrano Valley Christian, Ventura and Laguna Beach.

The Chargers held leads after the first set in three of the five matches — played side by side in a stadium setting.

Lexi Braunstein and Lorin McCown pulled out a 21-17, 21-17 win, the only straight-sets victory for the Chargers. Different from the beach, which among other things may have provided more wind to contend with, the venue also allowed the players to track the progress of adjacent matches.

“It was very stressful, looking over at my teammates’ scores and seeing if they were winning or losing,” said Braunstein, a senior who also played outside hitter for Edison’s indoor program. “I think it was really good that we stuck it out and won.”

When Braunstein and McCown closed out their match, the Chargers were trailing, 2-1, left with no margin for error to stay in title contention. The teams ran over to Court 5, where a third set had already gotten underway.

Knights sophomore twins Alyssa and Hailey Waters edged Sidney Kershaw and Emery Oakes, 13-21, 21-17, 15-12, clinching the match and the first CIF title for Bishop Montgomery (14-1), who rushed the court to celebrate.

Taylor McPherson and Gwen Willmer were part of the last match on court, when McPherson got sick during the third set. After being attended to at the back of the court, she stayed in the match, the Chargers’ all-sophomore pairing prevailing 21-9, 21-23, 15-11.

“I know this girl so well,” Willmer said while standing alongside her doubles partner. “This girl’s like my little twin. We’re like, literally, peas in a pod. Once I saw her battling her physical [ailment] out, I was like, ‘That’s OK,’ like, I know she wants to win. If we’re here, we’re in the third, we’re at CIF, she’s going to play. We’re going to win.

“I just knew that as long as I’m positive and I’m cheering her on and giving her what I can, I knew that as a team together, we’re able to work that and apply that to our game.”

Asked about the toughness exhibited by McPherson to remain in the fight, Roche said players remember matches as their careers go on.

“A lot of these girls are college bound,” Roche said. “They have it, really, in them to compete no matter what, win or lose. It’s a lot of pride to win your own game. … Down the road, the girls across the net are girls you’re going to play in the future, so they always remember, ‘Oh, we won that.’”

McPherson said she fed off the stadium setup, saying she liked playing in front of a crowd.

“It definitely is a lot different,” McPherson said. “I honestly like when people watch me. I like it because it pushes me to do better. The pressure is really, like, ‘I got to do this,’ so honestly, I like that. Being able to hear all the other courts and everything, just the environment’s really good. Definitely, the sand’s different than actually playing on the beach.”

CIF Southern Section Division 2 final

Bishop Montgomery 3, Edison 2

Stacy Balestrieri / Stephanie Balestrieri (BM) def. Kendyl Clem / Kaelin Lagarde (E), 21-9, 21-11.

Gwen Willmer / Taylor McPherson (E) def. Haley Spak / Lynn Choe (BM), 21-9, 21-23, 15-11.

Lorin McCown / Lexi Braunstein (E) def. Odessa Yarnevic / Irene Choe (BM), 21-17, 21-17.

Kendall McKechnie / Carli Duda (BM) def. Sydney Jensen / Zoie Millichap (E), 21-14, 21-13.

Alyssa Waters / Hailey Waters (BM) def. Sidney Kershaw / Emery Oakes (E), 13-21, 21-17, 15-12.