Mira Costa continued to dominate the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League capturing its third consecutive championship on May 16 with a 2-1 victory over Saddleback Valley Christian.
As the No. 2 and No. 3 teams from each school finished splitting their two matches, the No. 1 teams were even at one game each creating a winner-take-all third game.
Mira Costa’s Skylar Caputo and Katrina Kernochan jumped out to an 8-4 lead before Saddleback rallied to tie the game 8-8. Moving to the windier side of the court, Caputo and Kernochan pulled away for a 21-9 victory that gave Mira Costa a three-peat after the Mustangs lost to Valencia in the inaugural IBVL championships in 2012.
Led by head coach and Olympic gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana and assistants, Scott Davenport, Brooke Niles and Jenn Snyder, Mira Costa’s girls beach volleyball program has grown to include 42 players competing on four different teams this season. Many of the girls will continue to play on the collegiate level.
Caputo and Kernochan have committed to play sand volleyball at Pepperdine and USC, respectively. The Mustang’s second team included Emma Smith, a junior committed to Hawaii for both indoor and sand volleyball, and Claudia Lemieux, a senior committed to Tulane for sand volleyball.
The third team included freshman Pippa Monk-Heidrich and Presley Forbes, a sophomore committed to Hawaii for sand volleyball. Â The fourth team included seniors, Keala Rusher, committed to Tulane for sand volleyball, and Lindsay Chalmers.
Also competing on this year’s varsity team were Ashley Anselmo, Kelly Anna Geiser, Avery Hazelreig, Chloe Markland and Hannah Schreiner.
“Going into the finals of the IBVL high school team championship, some of us knew it would be our last game to represent Mira Costa forever and others their very first experience to compete for the title,” Caputo said. “The pressure was on as we knew that our tie breaker would determine the championship. That last match wearing green and gold will be a memory I will cherish forever. The adrenaline of playing in front of an intense crowd is one of the reasons I love this game. Being undefeated as a team since 2012 has been a great accomplishment of the Mira Costa girls beach volleyball team, but winning the IBVL high school team championship made all the dedication from every player, coach, and parent that much more rewarding.”
It was a banner season for Caputo who won her third consecutive Pairs Championship, a tournament featuring the top teams determined by performances during the IBVL regular season.
Caputo and Kernochan captured this year’s title after Caputo and Lan Nguyen won the previous two championships including a win over Kernochan and Emma Smith in the 2014 finals.
Redondo’s Madi Relaz and Nicole Yacullo placed third in this year’s Pairs Championships.
