200 Students Compete at PUC’s Girls Volleyball Tournament

Throughout California, 12 academies competed at the girls' volleyball tournament at Pacific Union College from October 2 to 4. As schools began to arrive on October 1, PUC students greeted them with snacks, and tournament shirts.

Competing this year were student-athletes from Glendale Adventist Academy, La Sierra Academy, Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy, Central Valley Christian Academy, Mountain View Academy, Monterey Bay Academy, Lodi Academy, Sacramento Adventist Academy, Kolbe Trinity Academy, PUC Preparatory, and Pine Hills Adventist Academy.

Games began at 9 a.m. on Thursday, with PHAA vs. MVA and SAA vs. TPA starting the tournament and going well into the afternoon before the cross-pool tournament play began in the evening. On Friday, 12 games determined which schools would advance to the semifinals on Saturday night. With a much-needed break to fellowship and worship together, academy students attended Vespers and Afterlight, hosted by PUC’s Campus Ministries, and also participated in a Bible Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

PUC Executive Assistant and Enrollment Counselor Andrianna Massena and PUC Preparatory Athletic Director Matthew Lee organized the tournament. From providing free snacks and coffee at the gym every day and having PUC students staffed in the dorms on-call to assist with any needs, Massena and Lee made it their goal to ensure that schools and families felt welcomed, supported, and had an enjoyable weekend.

“The tournament was another great success,” said Lee. “Andrianna is so good at organizing all of the parts to make this work. She puts a lot of time into the details to make sure everything comes out just right. We're looking forward to doing it again next year.”

While this volleyball tournament was similar to last year’s, the level of competition seemed to be improving, according to Lee. The bracket matched well this year, making academy students excited to play opponents at the same level and ending games in close scores, with spectators on their feet and having tremendous fun watching.

“During the semi-finals on Friday, the crowd always gets pumped, hoping they'll be able to see their team competing for the championship on Saturday night,” said Lee. “There is a lot of emotion and energy on and off the court. Saturday night is always fun. The energy continues to build, and there is plenty of good volleyball to watch on both sides of the net.”

As six schools competed during the semifinals Saturday night, CVCA and MBA were the last teams standing. The tip-off was at 10 p.m. for the Championship Game, where MBA won all three sets, with the final score 25-21. CVCA secured second place, followed by SAA coming in third.

After the tournament, some coaches reached out to Massena and Lee to express their appreciation for the hospitable, welcoming atmosphere that provided an excellent experience for everyone and for how they “spoiled the coaches.” Schools, parents, and guests also appreciated the tournament's smoothness and the additional programming, creating a“really good experience” during their visit to PUC that they look forward to every year.

Following the success of the girls' volleyball tournament, PUC will host a brand-new boys' volleyball tournament in March, with the next girls' tournament scheduled for October 1-3, 2026.