Streaking Salpointe Catholic two wins away from first-ever beach volleyball title

Salpointe Catholic High School’s beach volleyball team is one win away from making it to the state championship for the first time in five years.

The undefeated Lancers face defending Division II champion Gilbert Mesquite on Tuesday in the state semifinals. The showdown features two of the best teams, regardless of Division. The top-seeded Lancers are 13-0, while Mesquite — seeded fourth — is 14-1. That one loss? It came against Salpointe on March 17, with the Lancers winning in five sets.

Salpointe coach Heather Moore-Martin expects Tuesday’s rematch at Queen Creek Casteel High School to be the toughest match of the season. The winner advances to Thursday’s state final.

“Mesquite wants that win back,” Moore-Martin said. “I’m expecting them to be better and I’m expecting it to be a dogfight.” Salpointe has so far rolled through the playoffs, defeating Rancho Solano Prep 5-0 in the opening round and then Deer Valley 4-1 last week’s quarterfinals.

Moore-Martin said she was proud of her team’s resiliency against Deer Valley: Three of Salpointe’s five pairs played a deciding third set, with two of the pairs winning.

“They were making adjustments on the fly, which is something we talk about in beach volleyball, you have to do that,” she said.

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The so-far undefeated season has come on the backs of Brandy Kishbaugh and Andrea Owens, the Lancers’ two seniors. The Lancers’ top pairing has won both of its playoff matches so far.

“Their dedication to volleyball has translated down the line to all of us,” Moore-Martin said. “We really respect the fact that they are so determined to be the best volleyball players that they can be.”

Since the program was formed by Martin in 2014, the Lancers have developed top beach volleyball talent in the state of Arizona.

Peyton Lewis, a 2018 graduate, is now playing the sport at Pepperdine, while Carly Lowry (Class of 2016), Alex Parkhurst (Class of 2019) and Abby Russell (Class of 2020) all play at the University of Arizona.

Though Parkhurst and Russell earned the state title in 2019 for Beach Pairs, Salpointe Catholic has yet to win a team state championship. This year’s Lancers, however, have the makings of a team that can win it all.

“We’ve shown a lot of resiliency this year, and they’ve just been wanting to get better and learn all year,” Moore-Martin said.