Beth Haglin’s husband, Dale, tried his best to put a handful of sand in one of her pockets for posterity, but Haglin wasn’t interested. 

Seeing her team celebrating after capturing Flagstaff's first beach crown was enough for her. Perhaps nobody in the state has committed as much time to high school volleyball as Haglin. 

Now in her 41st season, she is still on top of her game. Sandra Day O’Connor is also at the top of its game and doesn’t appear ready to relinquish its post. 

During a spirited duel against Arizona’s other beach volleyball heavyweight, Xavier Prep, the Eagles secured their five-peat.

Beach volleyball just completed its 14th season as a sanctioned high school sport in Arizona, and either Xavier or O’Connor has won every Division I crown except one. Xavier initially held a stranglehold on the division, but now the mantle belongs to O’Connor.

On Wednesday night at Casteel High, the O’Connor Eagles won 3-1 and the Flagstaff Eagles defeated Gilbert Christian 3-1 to walk away as D-I and D-II champs, respectively.

“What it means to me is God is good,” Haglin said. "Our fans and our parents are amazing. These girls work so incredibly hard, and to see it pay off is just amazing.”

Like Haglin, O’Connor coach Jamey Spartz built her program from the ground up. 

“Honestly, the biggest thing is the love these girls have for us and the program. That belief means the world to me,” she said. “You saw the connection, the energy, and the coachability. You saw everything needed to win a state championship."

Sandra Day O’Connor will lose 11 seniors, but don’t expect a drop off. (Aly Schmitt photo/AZPreps365) Going into the D-I final, many expected a close one given Xavier’s regular-season performance. 

The Gators had snapped O’Connor’s D-I record 64-match win streak in March, but O’Connor was without a centerpiece, injured Kaylee Woodruff, during that 3-2 defeat.

Woodruff returned late in the regular season. The senior and her talented partner, Delaney Singleton, won the first game of their highly anticipated match against Xavier’s Vivian Hickman and Kate MacDonald.

However, it was O’Connor’s 3’s, 4’s and 5’s that ultimately clinched the title.

The 2’s and 4’s matches proved to be the most enthralling part of the D-I finale. Xavier grabbed the early momentum behind a three-set victory by its 2’s, Emma Robescu and Kylie Barr. 

The drama intensified as the 4’s were locked in a memorable three-setter of their own. O’Connor’s Imani Huesca and Taylor Young staved off multiple match points to will themselves to a 11-21, 21-19, 20-18 victory.

O'Connor's Taylor Young and partner Imani Huesca were clutch down the stretch of their match. (Aly Schmitt photo/AZPreps365)“I trusted these girls because they have worked so hard on execution and staying smart, and they did it,” Spartz said of the pivotal victory by her 4’s.

Fueled by that effort and the fight Logan Sutton and Alyssa Archiello displayed during their loss to Xavier’s 2’s, O’Connor’s 1’s, 3’s and 5’s each won their opening games. 

The 5’s, Mirenah Martin and Keira Simmons, put O’Connor up 2-1 with a 21-11, 21-14 victory before the 3’s closed the door. Nikolina Mimic and Sami Mondino triggered O’Connor's celebration with a two-set win.

“It was overwhelming in the best way,” said Mimic, who clinched the title with an ace. “The fact that we won state for the fifth consecutive time, and it was determined by our match with everyone surrounding us—it was like, ‘Wow, I need to get this.’ I did, and it’s the best feeling ever.”

Flagstaff was experiencing that same euphoria on the other side of Casteel's facility. 

The Eagles entered as the No. 1 seed in D-II but faced a Gilbert Christian squad featuring three Division I commits: Alex Heyn (USC), Lillie Duitsman (GCU), and Sienna Cathey (Cal Poly). Having lost their only two previous beach championship appearances in 2022 and 2024, Flagstaff was hungry.

Kaylee Wilson and Hannah Thom (4’s) along with Peighton Kileen and freshman Anna Kranzow (2’s) swept their matches to put Flagstaff on the brink.

Flagstaff's Peighton Kileen (No. 13) and partner Anna Kranzow got off to a perfect start. (Aly Schmitt photo/AZPreps365) “We were confident but couldn’t be cocky,” Thom said. “Kaylee and I work well together. That was the best match we’ve ever played in terms of communication and energy.”

Needing just one more victory, Flagstaff’s 3’s (McKinley Lund and Nidaya Nez) and 5’s (Nola Henderson and Elise Welker) won their opening games. Henderson and Welker eventually added the finishing touches to the team’s championship triumph.

After the win, longtime Flagstaff athletic director Jeannine Brandel congratulated the team. The title served as an early retirement gift for Brandel, who is stepping down after nearly two decades of service. 

Haglin, who has won two indoor titles, hinted she might also retire after the next school year.

Her husband, Dale, thinks otherwise.

“She’ll never retire,” he laughed as the couple celebrated on the sand. 

Winning, it seems, makes it hard to walk away.