Beach volleyball team looks to go back to back
By Hector Trujillo
The Scripps Ranch High School defending CIF-SDS Girls Beach Volleyball Division 1 champion hopes to make another deep playoff run that ends with lifting a second-straight trophy.
Despite starting off this season with a loss, just like it did in 2024, Scripps Ranch High managed to rebound quickly with a 3-2 victory over Point Loma High, which was the team it defeated in the championship match last season.
“This is a very comparable team if not even a little bit better than last year,” said head coach Roni Hooper. “We knew we would come back strong this year and are very proud of our season.”
Hooper and co-head coach Erin Byrne saw 10 of their 12 players return in 2025, all of whom also play indoor volleyball, with many primarily seeking out beach over indoor scholarships.
“We graduated a couple of seniors but knew we had some really strong returners coming back,” Hooper said. “Even though we lost a couple of talented seniors, we knew we had a lot of really experienced beach players returning.”
Among the standout performers this season are Riley McDonald, Elyse Taschner, Bryce Leatherwood, Kristen White and Ella Fournier, who has been on the varsity team all four years.
Scripps Ranch High rose from its victory over Point Loma High to shutout its next four opponents in Canyon Hills High, University City High, Rancho Bernardo High and Patrick Henry High, with the last two coming during tournament play on March 8. The Lady Falcons then proceeded to defeat its next four opponents: La Jolla High, Carlsbad High, Torrey Pines High and La Jolla Country Day School in that same tournament by a combined scoreline of 17-3.
Scripps Ranch continued its winning ways in the next match on March 18 by beating Mt. Carmel High 4-1, followed by a 5-0 shutout of Mission Bay High on March 20, and a 3-2 victory over La Jolla High on March 24. The Lady Falcons saw its 12-game undefeated streak come to an end on March 27 in a 5-0 defeat versus defending Open Division champion Cathedral Catholic High, but managed to rebound the following day with a 3-2 win against Rancho Bernardo High before falling in its rematch with Point Loma High.
Scripps Ranch then defeated University City High on April 16 and La Jolla High on April 17, before closing its regular season against Eastlake High and Mission Bay High.