Springer and Milan Reach State Final Four

The MSJC beach volleyball pair of Korie Milan and Josephine Springer won four of six matches over the weekend to reach the final four of the 3C2A State Championships in Long Beach.

The duo started the tournament on Friday in pool play where they were on the court at 8 am for their first of three matches on the day. They lost their opening contest 18-21 and 16-21 to eventual state champions Legaspi and Lankton from Santa Monica. Springer and Milan would fight back to win their other two pool play matches defeating a team from Monterey Peninsula 21-17, 21-17 and then defeating a pair from American River 21-10 and 21-10 to advance into bracket play on Saturday.

Saturday started with sixteen pairs battling for the state title. In the round of sixteen, Springer and Milan won a hard-fought contest against Gibbs and Rivera from Feather River 21-18, 22-24, and 15-10 to advance into the quarterfinals. In their quarterfinal match the pair avenged a loss from the Regional Tournament when they defeated Johnston and Matthews from Golden West 21-19, 21-19 to advance to the state semifinals. The semifinal was another epic match as the Eagles took the opening set 21-9 but lost the second 12-21. In the third and deciding set Fresno rallied to win 15-12, moving them into the state title match.

Springer and Milan went 4-2 over the weekend and their two losses came to the state champion and state runners-up. Reaching the state final four was a monumental achievement for the Eagle duo as they became the first pair in program history to reach that point.

Last season, Springer partnered with Brooklynn Thomas when they became the first pair in program history to reach the state tournament. The Eagles conclude a memorable beach season as they also qualified for the team regional tournament for the first time.