PV's LaBreche twins win Bay League title
The LaBreche sisters, Mallory and Molly, won the Bay League beach volleyball pairs tournament Monday.
The Palos Verdes twins defeated the Redondo team of sisters Addison and Avery Junk in the first round, followed by the Redondo pair of Kenzie Miller and Giselle Gallegos in the second round. In the semifinals, the LaBreches defeated the Mira Costa sister duo of Giselle and Savanna Lau, and they defeated Mira Costa's Taylor Deckert and Olga Nikolaeva in the final.
They are the first team from Palos Verdes to win the beach pair championship. played today, he'd certainly be the starter, no question about it,” Riley said of Murphy, nearly identical to what Henson had said of Raymond two weeks earlier.
Freshman center Jason Zandamela's transfer last week — the highest-ranked offensive lineman in the class of 2024 — only thins the number of bodies in the room. At the start of spring camp, Riley said the depth at USC's tackle spots “was a little bit of a concern,” prompting the possibility the program might look to add talent in the spring transfer portal; in the wake of Zandamela's departure, that possibility became certainty, USC simply needing help both at tackle and on the interior.
What they aim for, ultimately, will represent either a full commitment or a step back from the front-building philosophy Riley described in December: stockpile young talent, and slowly taper usage of the portal. After USC slotted in three transfers — Pregnon, Jarrett Kingston and Michael Tarquin — into starting roles on their line in 2023, the unit too often crumpled against a variety of defensive fronts. And Riley and Henson haven't been shy this spring about driving a bus over the previous year's approach.
“Last year, I felt like, at some spots, there was just disconnect where we couldn't energize each other. And I'm not talking about me — I'm talking
“They played great volleyball,” Sea Kings coach Patrick Lynch said. “They were consistent, stayed focused and supported each other throughout every match.
“They are a such a tough team to beat because they don't make a lot of mistakes and they have such great ball control and communication when they play with each other.”
The sisters, who are juniors, were beach volleyball All-Area selections last season. They were also AllArea selections in the fall for indoor volleyball — Mallory was second team and Molly was third team.
The first round of the CIF-SS team championships will be played Thursday. about the guys in the room,” Henson said in late March.
“I don't know that we ever completely gelled as a unit,” Riley said a couple weeks later. “One, I think it starts with your older players. Your older guys, they have to play their best. They have to be great leaders. They have to set the tone. And I think at times last year, that did not necessarily happen all the time.”
It's inevitable USC adds a name or two on the line this spring. But after Riley and Henson so thoroughly detailed last year's shortcomings, USC will likely still look in large part to younger pieces to play key roles on the line. That could start with Raymond at right tackle; it'll almost certainly start with Paige at left tackle, who had a fantastic game protecting Moss' blind side in December's Holiday Bowl.
“He's kinda established himself as that guy at left tackle for us,” Moss said of Paige on Tuesday, a wry smile creeping into his face. “I feel very safe back there with him.”
And no matter what movement occurs in the next two weeks, USC's line will rely heavily on the youth movement, an inevitable step in the rebuild that can only be corrected by continued development.
“We've got young guys for our depth, so,” Henson said in late March, with the slight air of a man resigned to his hand. “It is what it is.”