Mira Costa clinches Bay League title with sweep of rival Redondo
MANHATTAN BEACH >> The Mira Costa boys volleyball team went into Wednesday night's Bay League match against rival Redondo with a game plan that it hoped would net the Mustangs their fourth consecutive league championship.
Thanks to the hitting of senior Victor Loiola, who had a match-high 23 kills, and the net play of junior Alex Heins, Mira Costa swept past Redondo, 25-15, 25-18, 25-18.
“Our team was ready to play. I pretty much told them this was a playoff match and we needed to get ready for that. We showed up accordingly,” Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said. “We did everything we needed to do and played very sharp almost the entire match. This was one of our better matches (this season). I'm really proud of the boys.”
Mira Costa (31-3, 9-0) jumped on Redondo
(20-6, 8-2) from the beginning of the match thanks to Loiola, who recorded three early kills to give the Mustangs a 7-2 lead in the first set. After a quick Redondo rally, Mira Costa answered with a 9-1 run to take a commanding 21-11 on the way to the opening-set win.
The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Redondo keeping it close early, trailing only 11-9. However, Mira Costa received a boost from Heins (9 kills, 7 blocks) and Loiola, who sparked a run that saw the Mustangs score 10 of the next 14 points.
With Mira Costa leading 22-17, middle blocker Akea Gealon recorded consecutive kills and Johnny Dysktra closed out the set with an ace to put Mira Costa in command of the match with a 25-18 victory.
“We had a pretty good scouting report on them, so we knew what they were going to do, we just had to execute,” Heins said. “Our blocking was much better than it was the first time we played. We were much more disciplined tonight at the net. I prioritized my blocking tonight and executed well.”
In the third set Redondo started strong, taking an 11-9 lead, but Mira Costa again responded. Loiola and junior Thatcher Fahlbusch had three kills each during a 13-2 run that gave Mira Costa a 21-13 lead.
Redondo rallied to get to within four, 21-17, but Loiola recorded three consecutive kills and junior Andrew Chapin closed the match with an ace.
“This is good start going into playoffs, but this isn't the main goal, we have a bigger thing to chase, a CIF ring,” Loiola said. “I know our (playoff) run may be a little tough, but we did it to ourselves losing some matches we shouldn't have. However, I have a good feeling about it. We are ready for it.”
The CIF-SS playoff pairings will be released Saturday morning.