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Ceballos & Castillo Advance to Day Two After Gritty Pool Play at 3C2A Championships

Photo Courtesy: Daves Sports Images
Photo Courtesy: Daves Sports Images

Long Beach, Calif. – Day one of the 2025 3C2A Beach Volleyball Pairs Championships brought intensity, redemption, and fierce competition as Mt. SAC's top duo, Candace Ceballos and Madeline Castillo, battled their way into day two after earning second place in their pool.

Entering the tournament as the No. 10 seed in the South and ranked third in their pool, the Mountie pair opened strong against the top-ranked team, Prior Borick and Grace Hazelton of Moorpark College, who had previously beaten them at Regionals. Determined to even the score, Ceballos and Castillo dropped the first set 21-17 but stormed back to win the next two, 21-16 and 15-7, in a thrilling comeback victory.

Their second match of the day featured a tightly contested showdown against Feather River's No. 7 Northern seed, Teya Gibbs and Mia Rivera, the second-ranked team in the pool. In a heart-pounding duel of skill and endurance, Mt. SAC took the opening set 21-19, but Feather River responded with a 21-18 second-set win.

In a relentless, back-and-forth battle beneath the blistering sun, the crowd erupted as both teams traded blows—sneaky tips, thunderous hits, clutch digs, and fierce serves. With sand clinging to their sunscreen-covered skin and sheer grit fueling every dive, the Mounties gave everything they had before narrowly falling, 20-18.

The Mounties secured their second pool-play win by forfeit after Long Beach City College's duo unexpectedly withdrew from competition due to undisclosed circumstances.

NEXT UP:
The top 16 beach volleyball pairs in California are set to square off on Saturday, May 10. Ceballos and Castillo return to action at 10:00 AM on Court 1, where they'll face Santa Monica College's top-seeded Annah Legaspi and Nicole Lankton, fresh off their championship win at Regionals.

As the saying goes—if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Let's go Mounties!

STAY CONNECTED:

Follow Mt. SAC Women's Volleyball on Twitter @MtSAC_BeachVB or Instagram /mtsacbeachvball/

Follow Mt. SAC Athletics on Twitter @MtSAC_athletics Instagram /mtsac_athletics/ or Facebook @Mountie.Athletics

For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.