Johnston and Matthews Advance to 3C2A State Championships After 6th Place Finish

WALNUT, CA — The Golden West College Beach Volleyball program had two pairs compete at the 2025 Southern California Regional Beach Volleyball Pairs Championship, held May 2–3 at Mt. San Antonio College. Rustler pairs #10 Hayden Johnston/Maren Matthews and #28 Jenna Zaffino/Cassandra Zoellers both competed in the elite 32-team field from across Southern California.

The Rustlers' top pair, Johnston and Matthews, opened the tournament with a dominant performance over Long/Husek of Santa Barbara City College. That win advanced them into the round of 16, where they faced the #7-seeded Milan/Springer from Mt. San Jacinto College, earning their second win on day one. With the win they moved to the play the #2-seeded Legaspi/Lankton from Santa Monica College. Despite a competitive effort, Johnston and Matthews fell in that matchup, pushing them into the 5th–8th place bracket.

Refusing to back down, the duo bounced back with a win over Gomez/Mojica from San Diego Mesa College to secure a top-6 finish. In their final match, they faced a strong and familiar #1 duo from Orange Coast College in Packer/Ihrig and ultimately fell in a tightly played match to finish in 6th place — an impressive result among the region's top competitors. The duo will be the 6th seed from the south in the upcoming 3C2A Beach Volleyball Pairs State CHampionships held at Long Beach City College on May 9-10. 

Golden West's second pair, Zaffino and Zoellers, matched up with the #5-seeded Thomsen/Papia of Santa Barbara in the opening round. Despite a strong showing, they fell in the first round and moved into the 17th–20th consolation bracket.

The Rustlers pair stayed resilient but fell short in their next match against Lozano/Ramirez of Grossmont College to end their run in the tournament.