2025 San Diego high school beach volleyball preview
Key dates
Section finals: May 10
Overview: From rules to strategies, beach volleyball is a completely different sport from the indoor game. But in the first two seasons of beach being a CIF-sanctioned sport for girls in San Diego, the results sure look similar to indoor. Cathedral Catholic, the titans of the hardcourt, have so far been the queens of the beach with back-to-back Open Division championships. The Dons will be favored to make it three straight, but the growth of the sport could mean the title changes hands in 2025.
Defending champions
Open Division: Cathedral Catholic
Division 1: Scripps Ranch
Division 2: Carlsbad
Notable: The one constant for Cathedral Catholic has been coach Juliana Conn. She’ll coach the Dons beach team again as well as her duties as coach of the indoor teams with the Wave club. That’s notable: a new section rule allows indoor club players to play high school beach at the same time. That didn’t exist the first two seasons, which forced athletes to choose one or the other. While it should make for higher quality play, there are concerns that some players may just show up for duals and tournaments, taking away opportunities for others. Regardless, the usual powers, like Torrey Pines, will attempt to dethrone the Dons. La Jolla and Westview were in the Open Division last season, and Scripps Ranch is the defending Division 1 champ. The Dons will be led by senior Gracen Daniels, who is committed to three-time beach defending national champion USC, Lauren Hanson, a junior setter who was a crucial player on the state champion indoor squad, and indoor big arm Jojo Wilson. Conn got a pleasant surprise on the first day of tryouts when indoor standouts Mae Kordas (Yale commit), Maya Evens (Notre Dame commit) and Kalea Lee decided to play. Some of the county’s top players are skipping this season to focus on club and beach training, including junior Stanford commit Sam Krystkowiak (Torrey Pines) and senior Washington commit Zoe Pabarcus (Our Lady of Peace). There are just under 50 schools fielding teams, with the North County Conference hosting 14.
Players to watch
(in alphabetical order)
Tiana Baker, Steele Canyon, So.
Addison Bastedo, University City, Sr.
Gracen Daniels, Cathedral Catholic, Sr.
Aurora Fernandez, Point Loma, So.
Lilian Hagopian, Point Loma, So.
Lauren Hanson, Cathedral Catholic, Jr.
Taylor Harry, Steele Canyon, Sr.
Bryce Leatherwood, Scripps Ranch, Jr.
Riley McDonald, Scripps Ranch, So.
Grace man, Point Loma, Jr.
Ellasyn Scuba, University City, Sr.
Caroline Tadder, Point Loma, Jr.
Elyse Taschner, Scripps Ranch, Jr.
Kristen White, Scripps Ranch, Jr.
Olivia Williams, Steele Canyon, Sr.
Jojo Wilson, Cathedral Catholic, So.
—TIM MEEHAN
