Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy take Hermosa Beach women’s volleyball title

HERMOSA BEACH — The AVP Women’s Hermosa Beach Pro Open championship match was a battle of the underdogs as the No. 6 seeded duo of Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn-Murphy faced off against No. 13 seeded team of Megan Rice and Savannah Simo.

In a dominating game, Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy came out on top, sweeping Rice and Simo 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) to win their first AVP championship title.

Schermerhorn-Murphy recorded 14 kills on 29 attack attempts along with 5 diggs and 6 blocks. Quiggle added 9 kills and 13 diggs.

“We’ve been working really hard as a team. Beach volleyball is definitely up and down. We had a great year last year, and we’re finding our momentum this year,” Quiggle said. “To be able to come into this tournament and win it feels amazing. It’s something really special that we get to share together forever.”

The journey to the championship match was not easy, but they breezed through the competition sweeping all but one opponent.

In the second round of play, they defeated No. 3 seeded Deahna Kraft and Zana Muno 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) en route to Sunday’s championship.

Rice and Simo defeated fellow underdogs Lexy Denaburg and Carly Kan 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) to set up a matchup with Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy.

Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy came out of the first set on fire, taking an early 9-1 lead. The duo coasted the rest of the way to come out with a 21-15 set 1 win.

The second set was much closer to start, but Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy’s offensive efficiency was too much for their opponents. Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy recorded an attacking percentage of .455 in the closeout set to take the 21-16 victory.

“I think we were confident in ourselves that we were capable of winning this tournament,” Quiggle said. “Being able to follow through and complete that goal of ours is just an unbelievable feeling. It’s a testimony to all the work that we put in, all the work our coaches put in in the gym. It’s really nice to see the work pay off.”

For Quiggle, playing at Hermosa Beach felt familiar as she played her collegiate career at Pepperdine where she was the 2018 WCC Player of the Year. But Schermerhorn-Murphy said the journey to get to this point was difficult as she has been away from her family and friends throughout the season.

“(Our relationship) is very much a marriage and a partnership. I live in Florida, my husband’s in Florida. So, emotionally it can be hard for me to be out here,” Schermerhorn-Murphy said. “Corinne’s a great supporter, her family is really supportive out here. We’ve just really pushed through. I think we’ve grown a lot as a team through some of those hardships and it’s just made us better.”

The duo won their first AVP championship with their tournament victory at Hermosa. They said their next big challenge will be back here when they compete in the Manhattan Beach Open on Aug. 18.