Bambe and Maffitt advance to state round of 16 after second-place pool finish

WALNUT, CA (5/8/2026) -- Emma Bambe and Reese Maffitt are through to the round of 16 at the CCCAA State Beach Volleyball Championships after finishing second in Pool 2 on Friday at Mt. San Antonio College. The Palomar pair went 2-1 in pool play to punch their ticket to Saturday's single-elimination bracket, where they will face Ihrig/Vienna of Orange Coast College at 10 a.m.

The day opened against the pool's top seed, Daniels/Barrios of Ventura College, and Bambe and Maffitt dropped that one in straight sets, 22-20, 21-17. It was a competitive opening frame before Ventura pulled away to close out the match, but the loss did little to disrupt what followed.

Palomar responded by winning their next two matches without dropping a set. They handled Manu/Beaman of Fresno City College 21-17, 21-19 before closing pool play against Nguyen/Town of San Diego Mesa College, winning 21-18, 21-18 to lock up second place in the pool.

Daniels/Barrios went unbeaten to claim the pool title, while Bambe and Maffitt's 2-1 finish kept them ahead of Nguyen/Town (1-2) and Manu/Beaman (0-3) in the final standings.

Saturday's round of 16 matchup against Orange Coast's Ihrig/Vienna is set for 10 a.m. on Court 1 at Mt. San Antonio College. A win there advances the Comets to the quarterfinals at 12:30 p.m.