HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – The Cypress College duo of Madison May and Rockelle Gholson finished 5th overall at the Orange Empire Conference Pair Play Ins on Friday. They will represent the Chargers as the first pair in school history at the beach volleyball state championships.
After a dominant performance over Fullerton's Victoria Rodriguez and Shawnee Longmeyer in the round of 32 on Wednesday, May/Gholson found a way to up their intensity against Fullerton's No. 2 pair Alex Winfield and Mariah Gonzalez in the round of 16 on Friday. May/Gholson rallied in the first set to defeat Winfield/Gonzalez 21-19 before cruising to a 21-12 victory in the second set to win the match.
May/Gholson lost a heartbreaker in three sets against Jasmine Hogan and Jill Pineda of Golden West College in the round of 8. Hogan/Pineda took the first set 21-16 but May/Gholson bounced back with a 24-22 victory in the second set. The Chargers struggled with their serves to begin the final set and could not recover from the early deficit. Hogan/Pineda took the third set (15-7) and the match.
Despite the loss in the round of 8, May/Gholson are optimistic about their chances in the State Championships and have the talent to make a deep run in Cypress College's first season of beach volleyball.
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