Salpointe Catholic is again queen of the court, winning 3rd beach volleyball state title in a row

QUEEN CREEK — For the third straight season, Salpointe Catholic’s beach volleyball team is the queen of the court.

Top-seeded Salpointe (16-1) beat No. 3 seed Goodyear Estrella Foothills 3-0 on Wednesday night at Queen Creek Casteel in the Division II state championship match.

“It’s kinda crazy honestly,” junior Megan Muehlebach said. “The last few years it was surreal, but the fact that we were able to win a third time is just insane to me, I’m so grateful for my team. They’re all such hard workers. We all love each other so much. I’m so beyond grateful to be on this team.”

Salpointe swept every match it played except for a 3-2 loss to Division I No. 1 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor at the Catbox Classic at Ironwood Ridge. O’Connor won the DI championship at Casteel just before Salpointe won the DII title.

“Really proud of their effort, what they’ve done and how they’ve committed to the game,” Salpointe coach Heather Moore-Martin said.

Senior Rylen Bourguet scored the championship-clinching point with a kill. She also scored that state-tittle-winning goal in soccer.

Bourguet has won seven team state championships.

“I’m super honored being a part of so many great teams at Salpointe, great coaches and programs like the one I just played for right now,” Bourguet. “So just super exciting.”

Bourguet and senior Jordan Faircloth won their match at No. 2, 21-12, 21-17.

Salpointe won despite Frankie Pieroni breaking her leg recently. Pieroni and Muehlebach were the Lancers’ No. 1 team.

Moore-Martin said the team was worried about how much Pieroni’s injury would hurt, but senior Minda Prideaux moved up from the No. 6 team, and Muehlebach/Prideaux went undefeated.

“I’m really just proud of what Minda did and Frankie just being a great leader,” Moore-Martin said. “Frankie may have had surgery, but she was there the next day sitting there in pain, wrapped up in this cast, and she’s still going, ‘Come on you guys, come on,’ giving us words of encouragement.”

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Pieroni sat on a chair in the sand with the other Lancers who weren’t playing and cheered on her teammates Wednesday.

“It was definitely tough because she was an amazing partner, she was super great, super supportive, an absolute baller. She’s gonna do amazing in college, and I wanted her to finish with a great season,” Muehlebach said. “It’s definitely difficult, but I am happy that Minda was able to step up.”

Senior Gabby Monge and junior Scarlett Isaacson won the No. 4 match 21-11, 21-15. Senior Alyssa Robles and freshman Kate Mobley won at No. 5, 21-10, 21-17.

It’s Estrella Foothills’ first official loss. The Wolves won the indoor state championship in the fall after No. 1 Salpointe fell in the semifinals.

Muehlebach will miss out on the pairs tournament that starts next week because of Pieroni’s injury. Their pairs team was ranked No. 1.

Bourguet and Faircloth are seeded No. 2.

“I think me and Jordan are super quick, we’re a good team, very gritty,” Bourguet said. “So I think if we work hard we can make a run for sure.”

Digs

Salpointe has won three team state championships this school year. The other two were by the boys and girls soccer teams.

Salpointe moved into second for most beach volleyball state championships behind only Phoenix Xavier College Prep, which has eight. The first beach state tournament was contested in 2012.

The Lancers’ three titles in a row represent the longest active streak in beach volleyball in the state.