Mira Costa retires McPeak’s jersey, sweeps Redondo
MANHATTAN BEACH >> The Mira Costa girls volleyball program honored a part of its past Tuesday night.
Then the current group went out and turned in strong performance sweeping Redondo, 25-19, 25-19, 25-17 in a Bay League match.
Before the start of the match, Mira Costa retired Holly McPeak’s No. 7 jersey. McPeak graduated from Mira Costa in 1987, winning two CIF Southern Section championships and a state championship before embarking on a collegiate and then professional beach career.
McPeak was also a threetime Olympian in beach volleyball.
“When I came in (to Mira Costa) as a freshman, (coach) Dae Lea Aldrich was a legend,” McPeak told the crowd inside Mira Costa’s new gym. “We were terrified. Day One, we’re doing sprints, throwing up, it was all in. If you’re going to be part of Mira Costa volleyball, it’s all in.
“I want to thank the players that came before me and built the culture of winning and they paved the road. So when I came in, I was like I have to pick up the slack. It was three D’s that were our motto: Dedication, Determination and Domination. As a group, we decided, we’re all in. We set goals for ourselves and every day we held each other accountable in the gym. Nobody missed a practice, nobody was late and we worked harder than anybody else in the country. If you get together as a collective unit and put that much hard work into something, the benefits are awesome and we won titles after titles and had so much fun.”
The current Mustangs (14-6, 5-0), led by coach
Cameron Green, who decided that it was time to start honoring players from the past, jumped out to a quick start in the opening set and never looked back.
“Our girls stepped up and you have to love in big games and big moments, when your girls play at a high level,” Green said. “That says a lot about who they are and how they’ve grown mentally.
“I was really proud of how we played the game, everyone was a factor, which was huge and I’m really proud … anytime you can beat a team like Redondo, it’s gigantic.”
The win was the first for Mira Costa over Redondo since Oct. 25, 2016, ending a streak of six consecutive losses.
In 2019, the last full season of high school volleyball, Redondo swept both matches against Redondo.
“It’s been a long progression, understanding of what we’re trying to do as a system, thinks are starting to click and we’re more comfortable with each other,” Green said. “We’ve been getting progressively better, so I felt like if we could just play, then we can do some good things.”
Drew Wright led Mira Costa’s attack with 16 kills. Isabel Wilmot had nine. Skylar Gerhardt and Shannon Knight had six apiece.
Charlie Fuerbringer finished with four kills and nine digs and Ellie Geoghegan led with 12 digs.
For Redondo, the Sea Hawks have now lost consecutive Bay League matches, dating back to Friday’s fourset loss to Palos Verdes.
“Mira Costa played great,” Redondo coach Tommy Chaffins said. “They played better defense, they executed better and they deserved the win.
“We need to believe that we can win against strong teams on the road. Last week in PV, I don’t think know if we believed we could win the first two sets and at some point in here, as a collective, I’m not so sure we believed we could win. We need all coaches, all 19 players believing that we’re going to win and playing harder on defense.”