Costa, Redondo deal with tough hands in Vegas

Web MC Alumni VBall — Playing against the current Mira Costa Varsity girls volleyball team in the program’s recent Alumni Game were some of schools greatest all-time women players. Shown are (back row, l-r) Wendy Fletcher, Lisa (Arce) Zimmerman, Barbra Fontana, Renee Siemak, Whitney Turner, Sydney Donahue, DaeLea Aldrich, (front row) Teryn Spragg, Kim (Grouwinkle) Willeman, Ann Windes, Ashley Bowles, Kristin Nelson. Photo by Gary Kious

The girls volleyball teams from Mira Costa and Redondo got a good glimpse of what it will take to make a legitimate run for CIF titles after making strong showings at the Durango Fall Classic tournament in Las Vegas last weekend.

Web Rosenfeld — Ella Rosenfeld and her Mira Costa teammates begin league play Tuesday when the Mustangs travel to take on Palos Verdes in a 5:15 p.m. match. Photo

Six of the top 10 finishers at the annual tournament hailed from CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA with Harvard-Westlake, the division’s tenth-ranked team, capturing the title. Mira Costa, which is ranked seventh in the division, fell to fifth-ranked Long Beach Poly 25-15, 25-22 in the third-place match.

Coach Lisa Zimmerman’s Mustang squad swept its three pool-play matches against Xavier Prep (AZ). Pleasant Grove (UT) and Torrey Pines then knocked off Redlands East Valley, (the top-ranked team in Division 1-A and 25^th in the PrepVolleyball.com Century Club National High School Rankings) before losing to La Costa Canyon (ranked 14th in the nation), in a 25-18, 26-24 match.

Mira Costa outside hitter Emma White and libero Andi Zbojniewicz were named to the all-tournament team.

After a final non-league tune-up match at Los Alamitos (No. 2 in Division 1-AA) on Thursday, Mira Costa begins its quest for a Bay League title with a crucial match at Palos Verdes slated for 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Web Lara Dykstra — Lara Dykstra and the Redondo Sea Hawks dug deep to win the Silver Division championship at the Durango Fall Classis in Las Vegas. Photo

Redondo brought home the Silver Division title with a 9th finish overall at the Durango Fall Classic. The Sea Hawks beat Green Valley 25-16, 25-16 then rebounded from a 25-16, 26-24 loss to La Costa Canyon to defeat Edison (No. 4 in Division 1-AA) 25-17, 25-19.

The Sea Hawks advanced to defeat Kamehameha (HI) 25-15, 25-13 and Clovis West 25-22, 25-20 before defeating Lakewood (No. 3 in Division 1-AA and 27^th in the nation) 19-25, 25-17, 29-27 in a hard fought match for the Silver Championship.

“We have had a great week,” Redondo head coach Tommy Chaffins said. “We went on the road and beat Orange Lutheran in give games which was ranked No. 6 in the CIF 1-AA poll. Then at Durango, we beat Hawaii’s No. 1 team and also swept Edison and Lakewood. We played hard, well, and most importantly, we are coming back relatively healthy.”

Redondo hosts South Thursday in a 6:45 p.m. match. The Spartans finished 26th in the Durango Fall Classic and are ranked second in the CIF Southern Section Division 2-AA poll. ER