Mira Costa off to an undefeated start
There is a new coach in charge of the Mira Costa boys volleyball team this season, as Greg Snyder has replaced Avery Drost.
The Mustangs are 10-0 after sweeping their games in Santa Barbara on Friday.
Their schedule this week begins Wednesday against Orange County powerhouse Newport Harbor and then the Mustangs play in the Best of the West Tournament.
One thing the Mustangs have going for them is their depth.
“Usually year every, Costa has a deep program, but it (depth) is even better this year,” said Snyder, who had been an assistant coach under Drost. “If someone is out, we have an option and someone can fill in and we wouldn't take a step backward.
“We've been able to adapt to many things, which is a good asset to have. We've used a lot of people in different ways.”
The first CIF-Southern Section Top 10 poll will be released March 11. Mira Costa expects to be near the top of the list.
The rankings should include several teams that the Mustangs will play in the coming weeks: Newport Harbor (Wednesday), Mater Dei (March 19), Loyola (March 22), Corona del Mar (March 25) and their two matches against Redondo (March 27, April 17) in Bay League action.
The Mustangs went 2-1 in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs last season.
The Mustangs opened this season by winning the Varsity Classic.
Middle blocker Alex Heins, setter Andrew Chapin and opposite Stone Seligson were alltournament selections and outside hitter Victor Loiola was tournament MVP.
Loiola is committed to Long Beach State, Zach Chapin to Pepperdine and Johnny Dykstra to USC. Junior Cooper Keane is also committed to USC.
“We have lot of returners, with some good new talent,” Snyder said.
Two freshmen on the team, Mateo Fuerbringer and Teddy Mandelbaum, could have an impact.
Best of the West
Mira Costa is the top seed in the Best of the West tournament that will start Friday in San Diego.
The Mustangs start out in Pool 1 with Tesoro, Carlsbad and Clovis North.
All matches will be played at Alliant International University.
The other top seeds include: Loyola (Pool 2), Huntington Beach (Pool 3), Newport Harbor (Pool 4) and Corona del Mar (Pool 6).
The Mustangs finished fifth in the tournament last season. The last time they won it was 2020.
Around the South Bay
Other South Bay teams that were included in the initial CIFSS watch lists for each division: El Segundo (Division 1/2), South Torrance (Division 3), Wiseburn Da Vinci (Division 3), Leuzinger (Division 5), CAMS (Division 6), Animo Leadership (Division 7) and Mary Star (Division 7).
The No. 7 seed Eagles defeated Santiago of Corona 70-53 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final. They enter the regional finals having won eight consecutive games. In the regional playoffs, the Eagles have defeated St. Anthony (66-59), St. Joseph (66-59) and Moreno Valley (69-66) to advance to the final. Junior Lev Feiman leads the Eagles, averaging 16.1 points a game and senior Jocelyn Pascual is at 14.8 points a game. After a firstround bye in regional play, the No. 1 seed Knights have recorded wins over Santiago (72-55) and La Jolla Country Day (7460). The win over La Jolla best epitomizes the type of team the Knights are, as five players scored at least 11 points, led by Jordin Blackmon with 22 points. Tiara Jones had 15 points, Armanyie Reed had 13, Atiya Watson 12 and Cyriah Coleman 11. This will be the second meeting between the Knights and Eagles. The teams met Nov. 29 with the Knights winning 70-55. Jocelyn Pascual led Brentwood with 29 points. Reed led the Knights with 17 points in the win, with Blackmon (15) and Jones (11) also scoring in double digits. Tuesday's winner will face Carondelet or Bishop O'Dowd in the state championship game Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.