Bronco Beach Volleyball Caps Historic Season with Championship Run

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- The Santa Clara University women’s beach volleyball team reached the West Coast Conference Championship final for the first time in program history, finishing off their 2025 season with a historic end. They secured a second-place conference finish, the highest in their program history. 

The tone for the team’s final stretch was established by the season’s last home game. The Broncos defeated San José State University in an exciting 3-2 victory on April 9. In addition, the game was a celebration of the two seniors, honoring student manager Annamarie Van Buiten ’25 and graduate student Holland Jackson ’25. 

Jackson, paired with Noelle Niederman ’27 at the No.1 doubles spot, had a key role in the Senior Day bout. After losing the opening set 17-21, the pair fought back to win the next two sets 21-19 and 15-11, giving the Broncos an early advantage.

At the No. 4 spot, Ava Stoddard ’28 and Callie Loughran ’28 defeated Sabrina Moore and Anna Salmon of San Jose State in straight sets, 21-15 and 21-18.

At the No. 3 seed, for a winner-takes-all matchup, Ciara Cantlen ’28 and Alexandra Urbina ’27 mounted clutch performances to help the Broncos win the duel. They lost the opening set 22-24 but quickly recovered to win the following two 21-15 and 15-6.

After the thrilling home victory, the Broncos had to contend with other West Coast teams in the competitive Stanford Invite. They defeated the University of California, Davis 3-2 to start the weekend on a high note, but then unfortunately lost to Stanford University, University of Washington and University of California, Berkeley. Nevertheless, heading into the WCC Championship tournament, the Broncos were still ahead of the competition.

On April 24, they defeated the University of San Francisco 5-0 to start the tournament. Later that day, they lost to Loyola Marymount University, a difficult opponent. The Broncos battled back on April 25 and put together three massive wins: a thrilling 3-2 victory over Pepperdine University, a 3-1 victory over Saint Mary’s College of California and a second sweep of USF.

For the first time in program history, the Broncos reached the WCC title match—a rematch against LMU. No. 3 seed Ciara Cantlen and Alexandra Urbina dropped their match in straight sets, 21-11 and 21-13. At No.4, Kawena Chillingworth ’28 and Teagan Wilson ’28 fell short  21-7, 21-10, while Callie Loughran ’28 and Ava Stoddard ’28 battled, but ultimately lost 21-13, 21-19 at the No. 5 seed. Despite the team’s loss to LMU in the championship game, the Broncos’ performance won them a well-deserved second-place finish. 

Looking forward, Bronco Beach volleyball focuses on continuing to grow and develop its young roster to build on this season’s success.