Bambe and Maffitt earn state bid, finish 10th in SoCal Regional

TORRANCE, CA (5/2/2026) -- Emma Bambe and Reese Maffitt came into the 3C2A SoCal Regional as the No. 21 seed and left with a state tournament berth and a double-elimination run that required every bit of their resilience. The Palomar pair went 3-2 over two days at the regional, qualifying for next weekend's state championship at Mt. San Antonio College as the No. 10 seed from the Southern Region.

The duo wasted no time making noise in the bracket. In their opening match against No. 12 Long Beach City College, Bambe and Maffitt dropped the second set but regrouped to close out the match in three (25-15, 22-24, 20-18), knocking off a higher-seeded opponent before the tournament had fully settled in, sealing their state bid before the end of day one.

The reward was a matchup with No. 5 Golden West College, a step up in competition that showed. The Comets fell 21-18 in the opener, pushed the match to a deciding set with a 22-20 win in the second, but couldn't sustain it as Golden West took the third 15-11 to send Palomar to the losers' bracket.

Still very much alive in the double elimination format, Bambe and Maffitt drew Mt. San Antonio College in a match that went the full distance for the third time in as many contests. They won the first set 21-16, were pushed back in the second 21-18, then held steady in the third to close it out 15-11.

Day two brought single-elimination stakes and a familiar opening opponent in Grossmont College. Palomar found themselves in a familiar rhythm, dropping the first set 21-18 before rallying to win the second 21-19 and finishing strong with a 15-10 third-set win to advance.

Moorpark College ended the run in the final match of the tournament, taking it in two sets, 21-11, 21-14. 

Bambe and Maffitt will represent Palomar at the 3C2A State Championships next weekend at Mt. San Antonio College. This is the third consecutive year the Comets have been represented at the tournament. Their 10th-place qualifying seed sets up what figures to be another competitive run in a bracket full of Southern Region heavyweights.