Peaking at the perfect time, No. 3 Clairemont won all five matches against No. 14 Mar Vista at home, advancing Thursday in the CIF-San Diego Section Division 2 girls beach volleyball playoffs.

The Chieftains advance to host No. 11 Patrick Henry in Tuesday’s quarterfinals after the Patriots upset No. 6 Olympian.

“The girls were locked in. This is probably the best I’ve seen them play all year,” said Chieftains coach Spencer Wade, who is in his first year in the program.

Clairemont’s Alanna Larsen and Ellie Deleon used an 8-0 run in the first set, coming out of a timeout to take an 18-11 lead to win the set, 21-14, against Mar Vista’s Anissa Smith and Jimena Barquin.

“(Ellie) knew that she had to serve tough in order to get a big lead,” Larsen said. “I told her to take risks. She served on the line and served in really hard spots, which made it hard for the other team.

“We stayed calm and made sure that no mistakes were made.”

Phot and article provided by Sna Diego Union-Tribune. Read full article here.