Monrovia's First Beach Volleyball Team Ends Season With a Win

The Monrovia Varsity Boys Beach Volleyball beat San Gabriel 2-1 in the season’s final league match on September 25th. The team came into the match-up with an 0-3 record, respectively, but were able to go out on a high note with exciting 3 set victories from the #3 pair Dillon Barnhart/Jesse Younge and #2 pair Tom Hover/Gunnar Keeling.

Head coach Marvin Fong said he’s excited to see how the team will grow after their first season. “This is the first team brave enough to try this new sport and they have laid the foundation for themselves to return next year and be even better but also have created awareness and excitement for the sport as well,” Fong said.

While the regular season is over, the Wildcats have their eyes on two postseason tournaments to get a winning streak going. They’ll be competing in the Inland Boy's Beach Volleyball League's Pairs Championship Tournament on Saturday, October 2nd and the IBBVL League Championship Tournament on Saturday, October 9th.

While it’s currently a high school club, Coach Fong hopes to get the team CIF sanctioned in the near future. Until then, they’ll prepare for the coming tournaments to get better for next season. “We are grateful to the City of Monrovia for allowing us to call Recreation Park our practice and competition home for our first season. Monrovia Boys and Girls Beach Volleyball programs are excited about the possibility of having beach volleyball courts built at Monrovia High School campus in the coming year,” said Fong.

For more information on the upcoming tournaments, please visit the Monrovia Wildcats Athletics page.

Photos: top, Monrovia High senior Jan Luke Caldito sets up junior Ken Tsuo; left, Freshman Jesse Younger serves.

Source: Monrovia Schools press release

- Brad Haugaard