Beach Volleyball Team Grateful to Have Home Court
The Eagle beach volleyball program leaped forward this past offseason with the construction of its home court, located on campus where the tennis courts used to be.
"We're loving it and so grateful we don't have to drive three hours a day for practice," said head coach Lyndi Cadola. "We feel super lucky to be practicing at home, being able to have home games, and keep growing the sport."
The Eagles will begin hosting matches on their new court in late March and April.
Starting the school's third season of beach volleyball, Siskiyous opened with a loss and a win on January 23 in Santa Cruz. They lost to Cabrillo, 4-1, then reversed those numbers in a 4-1 victory over Gavilan.
The 2026 Eagle roster is loaded with players from the indoor volleyball team that went 18-14 overall and stayed in contention for a state playoff spot until late in the fall season. They were the first Eagles to finish with an overall volleyball record above .500 in a decade.
The beach season with sophomores Heitiare Moala from Medford, OR, and Sarah Speasl from Eugene as the No. 1 pair, sophomores Sadie Graviet from Emmitt, ID, and Quincy Paarsch from Lakeport at No. 2, sophomore Rylee Brown from Woodland and freshman Amelia Luicido from Yreka at No. 3, sophomore Zoe Brooks from Kellogg, ID, and freshman Khloe Smith from Crescent City at No. 4, freshman Mia Hansen from South Jordan, UT, and freshman Delaney Rowe from Dearborn, MI, at No. 5, sophomores Sam Oakley from Reno and Maddie Gibson from Hansen, ID, at No. 6, and freshmen Rowyn McDougall from Incline Village, NV, and Kohen Thomas from Dorris at No. 7.
In the win over Gavilan, Moala and Speasl lost in three sets, 11-21, 21-14, 7-15, while the Eagles swept the next three matches and won the fifth by forfeit. Paarsch and Graviet won 21-13, 21-11; Brown and Luicido won 21-10, 21-12; Brooks and Smith won 21-6, 21-11.
"It was a fun experience to play on the beach at Santa Cruz," Cadola said. "We were scrappy on defense and did a lot of good things. This is the most balanced team we've had. Our pairs are competitive against each other at practice."
Everyone on the roster except Kohen Thomas and Amelia Luicido played for the Eagles' indoor team this past fall. Thomas was a helper for the indoor team; Luicido is looking to play indoors next fall.
Graviet, Paarsch, Speasl, Moala, Gibson, Oakley, and Brooks all return from last year's beach volleyball team.
Cadola is again being assisted by former Eagle Kayana Woodard, and she said team manager Lillian Walker is learning about coaching.
"The girls are working hard to get better. It's like a new sport," Cadola said, comparing beach volleyball to indoor volleyball. "it's two-on-two with different rules and different shots. The sand makes it harder to make sets and harder to jump. You have to move the ball more. With two people on the court there's longer rallies."
Their schedule in February includes two matches at Cosumnes River, two at Folsom Lake, and one at Simpson University the next three Fridays, then two Monday matches at Santa Rosa before opening conference against Shasta and Feather River March 4 at Feather River.
By Steve Gerace