Costa, Redondo advance on the court

After a hard-fought second-place finish in the Redondo Power Classic tournament and a stunning sweep of host Mira Costa to close out Bay League play, it would have been understandable if the teenagers on Redondo’s girls volleyball team had some sort of emotional let down.

But there was no sign of a hiccup in the Sea Hawk’s game Tuesday when it took just over an hour for Coach Tommy Chaffin’s squad to eliminate visiting Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section-Ford Division 1-AA playoffs.

“Our outstanding leaders – Lara Dykstra, Blake O’Brien and Tiffany Morales – have kept the team focused,” Chaffins said. “I liked the fact that after the Mira Costa win we were excited, but the girls didn’t go completely nutso. There was no mass euphoria. I believe that kept us from having an emotional let down.”

Dykstra recorded nine kills and 10 digs, O’Brien had 23 assists and Morales added 13 digs to pace Redondo. Morales believes the Sea Hawks are right on track.

“We’re focused on keeping our tenacity up and focusing on our side,” the junior libero said. “Throughout the season, we’ve made it a point to get better with every match and every practice.”

Nicole White added eight kills and three blocks and Skylar Dykstra had seven kills, three blocks and nine digs for Redondo (26-7), who advances to play at Orange Lutheran (27-7) in the second round Thursday. Redondo has defeated Orange Lutheran twice this season, the latest victory coming in the Redondo Power Classic on October 30.

 All matches with the exception of the final round are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Quarterfinals are slated for Saturday with the semifinals on Tuesday. Final matches of the CIF Southern Section-Ford Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19-20 at Cypress College.

Redondo’s 25-11, 25-17, 25-14 victory at Mira Costa earned the Sea Hawks a share of the Bay League title with the Mustangs. It was the first share of a league title since 1987 for Redondo which was in a different league than Mira Costa at the time.

Chaffins said the win was “up there” in his coaching career but was happier for the girls on his team.

“It was my first win there (at Mira Costa),” Chaffins said. “I wanted it badly for our seniors and in particular, Lara Dykstra. She works her tail off every day at practice, stays after practice a minimum of 45 minutes working on her game. It’s one of the reasons she’s so special.”

While the Sea Hawks were excited with the win, most players were not surprised.

“It was big. It was exciting to play them our last game of our senior year and beat them at their place,” O’Brien said. “We all played really well together which meant a lot. We knew we had to work on our side before focusing on them and we did a good job with that. We’ve learned from every game, every tournament and we know what we have to do – play great defense and have a strong serving game.”

“Beating Costa was bigger than any other win this year,” Morales added. “In our hearts, we knew we had the capability to beat them.”

The win moved Redondo up to the fifth seed and dropped Mira Costa in the seventh spot in the playoffs brackets. 

“Moving up to fifth seed – I don’t know how much it helped,” Chaffins said. “You’re at the mercy of the draw. There are some brutal second-round draws. Orange Lutheran was ranked 8^th going into the last CIF poll so you could say there is a five-eight match up going into the second round. There’s also Mira Costa-San Clemente, Santa Barbara-Long Beach Poly.”

Mira Costa (21-9) entered the playoffs as the Bay League’s second team and eliminated Westlake 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-12 at home Tuesday. The Mustangs will play San Clemente (27-4) Thursday at a site to be determined.

Jace Pardon and Ella Rosenfeld each recorded 10 kills and Maddy Klineman added eight kills, five blocks and seven aces.

Corie Bain had 43 assists and six digs, Emma White had nine kills and nine digs and Mandy Smith added five kills and four blocks for the Mustangs.

If Mira Costa can get by San Clemente, Coach Lisa Zimmerman’s team will likely play third-seeded Los Alamitos, a team the Mustangs fell to in five games on September 30.

Peninsula (16-13), the Bay League’s third-place team, was swept by tenth-seed Santa Barbara Tuesday while Palos Verdes (16-14) suffered the same outcome at ninth-seed Dos Pueblos.

In Division 2AA, Pioneer League champion South (21-7) defeated visiting Norco Tuesday and plays Tesoro (20-12) Thursday while El Segundo (10-9) beat Serrano and faces Riverside Poly (25-1-1) in the second round.

Bishop Montgomery (12-14) defeated Ayala in four games and will take on top-seeded La Canada. North (11-12) was eliminated by No. 10 Oaks Christian.

In Division 3AA, Prep champion Chadwick (24-0) remained undefeated with a sweep over Tustin and will play the Mayfair-Silverado winner on Thursday.

In Division 4AA, Serra earned a third seed and a first round bye. The Cavaliers (17-3) host the Westminster-Cate winner.

In Division 5AA, Vistamar (12-6) fell to Vasquez in five games.

Boys Water Polo

Mira Costa earned a share of the Bay League title with Palos Verdes and entered the CIF Division 3 playoffs as the Bay’s second team and is seeded fifth. The Mustangs (21-7) defeated Ayala 15-7  in the first round Wednesday and advances to the quarterfinals where they will face fourth-seed La Canada (20-8) at home Friday.

Jake Miller and Julian Monk each scored four goals, Charlie Manclark added three and Ryan Koverman had two. Joe Siltanen and Justin Pratt scored one goal apiece for Mira Costa who was led in goal by Dana Tuttle who recorded 12 saves. 

Third-seeded Palos Verdes (21-8) beat Culver City 19-9 and will face sixth-seed Capistrano Valley (19-9) Friday.

Ninth-ranked Peninsula (15-9) played a wild-card game Tuesday defeating Tesoro 14-6 at home. The Panthers fell to No. 2 Damien 20-8 in the first round.

Ocean League runner-up El Segundo (16-12) tied No. 7 Aliso Niguel 9-9 with 15 seconds left, but lost on a goal with two seconds remaining in regulation.

In Division 5, No. 9 Chadwick (17-8) lost at No. 8 Glendale Wednesday when Glendale scored with 15 seconds left.

Games are scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m. The Division 3 semifinals (Wednesday, Nov. 17) and finals (Saturday, Nov. 20) will be held at the William Woollett, Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine. The Division 5 semifinals will be held at Mt. San Antonio College and the finals at the William Woollett, Jr. Aquatic Center.

Girls Tennis

Mira Costa sophomore Maegan Manasse defeated Redondo’s Elle Taylor 6-4, 6-2 to win the Bay League’s singles title, improving her season record to a perfect 57-0.

The CIF Southern Section-Ford Girls Individual Tennis playoffs begin Friday, Nov. 19.

The Mustangs finished second in the Bay League team standings behind Peninsula while Redondo placed fourth.

Mira Costa (12-6) is ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Division poll and will host Freeway runner-up Sunny Hills (12-4) Thursday. All games with the exception of the final round are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

A Mustang victory will advance the team to the second round on Saturday to face the winner between third-seeded University and Calvary Chapel. 

Redondo (11-7) earned at wild-card berth but lost to Northwood 12-6 Tuesday afternoon. 

Peninsula (14-2) earned a fourth seed and hosts Simi Valley (16-4) in the first round. Palos Verdes (7-8) travels to take on Mission champion Harvard-Westlake (11-4).

In Division 2, Prep League champion Chadwick (14-2) earned a third seed and hosts Cypress (11-5) in the first round on Thursday.

In Division 4, Del Rey champion Bishop Montgomery (13-2) is seeded fifth and hosts the Windward-Oakwood winner. Pioneer champion El Segundo (10-7) hosts La Quinta (8-8) while Torrance (8-5) earned a wild-card berth and defeated Mayfair 15-3 Tuesday. The Tartars play at  Quartz Hill in the first round.

Updated brackets are available at www.cifss.org. ER