Paso Robles High School senior Tegan Curren has signed to play beach volleyball with Long Beach State, starting in the 2018 season.
When Curren started playing beach volleyball, a sport that she had admired through Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, she hated it. That hate turned into a love for the sport, when she signed the National Letter of Intent to play for Long Beach State, May-Treanor’s alma mater.
At first, Curren wasn’t sure she wanted to play in college, but hearing from a girl at a tournament that she attended that Long Beach State was looking for players, she decided to contact head coach Mike Campbell.
“I have been playing since the end of third grade, and I have always wanted to play, so I just went for it,” said Curren.
When not playing for school or her club team, she is on the sand courts of Santa Barbara or Pismo Beach.
On the beach, Curren met Sue Campbell, an administrator and coach at the Pismo Beach Volleyball Club. Campbell picked Curren to play in an AVP First event, taking her under her wing.
“There is a lot of opportunities right now,” said Campbell. “It has only been a few years since they have been having beach programs at college. I told her (Curren) there’s not going to be a lot of money, but at least you can get in and play ball in college.”
Curren said that she will not be getting a scholarship, but instead will join the team as a walk-on. Curren is the first college beach volleyball player to come out of Paso Robles High.
Long Beach State is ranked at #7 in a sport that just crowned its first NCAA national champion last season.
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