Team of the Week: Olympians remain the gold standard for JC volleyball Title

Women’s volleyball at Mesa College is on a spike.

Last fall, the Olympians finished third in the California Community College State Championships. In the spring, the Olympians won the state beach volleyball title after winning the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title for a fourth straight year.

Mesa won the state indoor volleyball team title in 2023, has gone a combined 66-5 over the past three seasons and has been to the state tournament three of the last four seasons. The Olympians have finished each of the past 20 seasons ranked among state’s top 10 volleyball teams.

This year, Mesa is off to a 9-1 start and ranked fourth in the state. The only loss is to top-ranked Feather River. s?

“We enter each season now with high expectations,” said Mesa coach Bobbie Jo Stall-Vest, who last Friday recorded her 150th win as the Olympians’ head coach. “Our strength is great depth. Some of the best youth volleyball is played by San Diego County club and high school teams.”

Said libero Trina Nguyen: “Most of our practices are tougher than our games. There are so many good players here. Yes, we have great depth. But I think there’s a bigger side to that depth. The fact that we have so many talented players pulls everyone together. There’s a family feel to volleyball here.”

Middle blocker Isabella Barrios says it’s “crazy how close you can get on a team like this.”

“I like that all the girls on this team get along and have fun,” she said. “I like that we all try. We spend a lot of time together. These are my closest friends, but two months ago I didn’t know who many of them were.”

Indoor volleyball practices start before fall semester classes begin, and beach volleyball championships are played after the school year officially ends.

Most of the young women in the Mesa volleyball program play both disciplines. So does Stall-Vest, who assists  beach volleyball coach Kim Lester in the spring.

“At the four-year level, most athletes are asked to pick one of the two disciplines,” Stall-Vest said. “Playing both here gives our athletes more opportunities at the next level.”

Recruiting, of course, is the key to any college program. Mesa College, a two-year school, is no different. But the Olympians’ record of success helps open doors and fuel interest.

Thirteen of the 19 players on the Mesa College roster played high school volleyball in San Diego County. There are also four transfers from four-year colleges — two from San Jose State, one from Pacific and one from Cal State Monterey Bay. There are eight sophomores and 11 freshmen.

“One of the toughest parts of coaching at a two-year college is having to replace half your roster every year,” said Stall-Vest. “We’ve been fortunate in bringing in quality freshmen each year who a year later are core sophomores.”

The returning sophomore core of the Olympians is made up of outside hitter Bella Town (Carlsbad High School), middle blocker Barrios (Helix High School) and libero Nguyen (Mira Mesa High School), setter Ruby Ennis (a Lakeside native by way of Cal State Monterey Bay) and middle blocker Giselle Haugen.

Outside hitters Mia Lundberg (153 kills, 180.5 points) and Maddie Connelly (San Jose State; 84 kills, 91 points) and Barrios (84 kills, 131.5 points) lead the team’s attack.

Newcomers like libero Paisley Stednitz (Granite Hills High School), middle blocker Charlotte Underwood (Vista Murrieta High School) and outside hitter Jovie Harmon (Ramona High School) give the team a future to dream on.

Town and Nguyen formed one of the two-girl teams on Mesa’s five-team beach volleyball championship team from last spring.

“Both the team and beach versions of volleyball have their own little perks, but they are both special to play,” said Nguyen. “I love how fast team volleyball is. Plus, the team dynamic and working together. Beach volleyball is more physically demanding. In some ways, going from one to another is a big adjustment. You draw a lot from your teammates.”

Grossmont College was the most powerful local two-year college volleyball program when Barrios was growing up in La Mesa.

She admittedly didn’t know much about Mesa.

“From high school, I kind of wanted to go to a four-year college and not play volleyball,” Barrios. “But one of my friends in high school said I should talk to ‘Coach BoJo.’ One talk pretty much got me here. I loved her sense of humor and personality. The strength here is the connections.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Olympians this year will be Mesa’s closest neighbors.

“Teams in our conference are a lot tougher now than even last year,” said Barrios. “Our conference is as strong as it’s been since I’ve been here,” said Stall-Vest. “Last year, the PCAC sent four teams to the playoffs. … Miramar, Mira Costa and Palomar have all stepped it up.”

But Mesa remains the gold standard in 3C2A volleyball.

Link to article: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/09/23/team-of-the-week-olympians-remain-the-gold-standard-for-jc-volleyball/

Photo credit: Noel Nicole

Tags: Women's Volleyball, Volleyball, Featured Posts, Athletics