Costa, El Segundo earn top seeds in CIF boys volleyball playoffs
Ranked as the state’s best boys volleyball team, Mira Costa was awarded the top seed in Division 1 of the CIF Southern Section-Toyota championship while Pioneer League champion El Segundo earned the top ranking in Division 4.
Bryce Miller and the Mira Costa Mustangs have their sights set high as they aim for their seventh CIF title and a possible national championship. Photo
Mira Costa (31-1) swept Lakewood 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 Tuesday in the opening round. Eric Mochalski had 11 kills and six blocks, Kevin Donohue added 10 kills and Jace Olsen recorded seven for the Mustangs who face Crespi (25-8) today.
Quarterfinal contests are scheduled for Saturday followed by the semifinals on Tuesday. Championship matches will be played Saturday, May 22 at Cypress College. All games with the exception of the finals are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Redondo (22-11) earned a berth as the Bay League’s third-place team and defeated Mater Dei 25-22, 25-14, 13-25, 25-22 Tuesday behind Riley Theunissen’s 19 kills and 13 digs. Ryan Olson added 15 kills and 15 digs while Trevor Butler had 10 kills and Austin Moore contributed eight kills and seven blocks.
The victory marked the first playoff win since 2006 for the Sea Hawks who face No. 7 Edison (20-8) today.
Bay League runner-up Palos Verdes (24-8) defeated Woodbridge Tuesday and takes on the Newport Harbor today.
In Division 4, four of the top six teams hail from the South Bay. Top-seeded El Segundo (15-4) swept wild card Bishop Amat Tuesday, advancing to play the Oakwood (18-3) in the second round today.
Pioneer runner-up North (19-9) earned the No. 3 seed and swept Providence. The Saxons play at San Marino (12-15) today. South (19-10) is ranked No. 6, swept Magnolia in the first round and will face No. 10 Campbell Hall (18-10) today.
Del Rey champion Bishop Montgomery (16-8) entered the playoffs as the division’s No. 5 team and was forced to go the distance before eliminating Warren in the first round. The Knights travel to A.B. Miller today.
In Division 5, Vistmar, of El Segundo, earned the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season with a 17-3 record. The Vikings defeated Laguna Blanca Tuesday and will face San Gabriel Academy today.
Chadwick (15-9) is ranked No. 8 in Division 5 and swept Cate in the first round. The team hosts Calvary Chapel/Downey (15-6) today.
Updated brackets are available at www.cifss.org.
Baseball
Mira Costa can win the Bay League championship outright today with a home victory over Palos Verdes in today’s regular season finale at 3:15 p.m.
Robert Parucha earned his sixth victory of the year with a 3-2 victory over Palos Verdes giving Mira Costa a share of the Bay League title. The two teams square off today at Mira Costa in the regular season finale. Photo
The Mustangs (14-14, 8-1) earned at least a share of the title with a 3-2 road victory over the Sea Kings (18-9, 8-1) on Tuesday. Pitcher Robert Parucha went the distance, limiting Palos Verdes to two runs in the fourth inning to pick up his sixth win of the season. In the top of the fourth, Brett Collins scored what proved to be the winning run after leading off the inning with a double.
Mira Costa is taking advantage of the help it received last week. While the Mustangs were sweeping their series with rival Redondo with an 11-3 win Friday, West was mounting a dramatic 11-10 victory in 10 innings, handing Palos Verdes its first league loss and creating a tie for first place.
Redondo (10-17, 2-7) was crushed by Peninsula 13-1 Tuesday, eliminating any hopes the Sea Hawks had for a playoff berth and putting the team in the role of spoiler. Peninsula and West are battling for third place. Both teams are 12-15 overall and 5-4 in Bay League action. Leuzinger remains winless in league play.
Boys Tennis
Mira Costa’s doubles team of Parker Kelley and Devon Sousa won the Bay League title, advancing to the CIF Southern Section-Toyota Individual championships beginning Friday, May 21.
The Bay League placed three teams in the top ten and Redondo earned a wild-card berth in the CIF Division 1 playoffs.
Mira Costa (13-10) finished the regular season in the No. 9 slot and eliminated Santa Margarita 12-6 yesterday in the opening round. Greg Scott and Kelley swept their singles sets while Sousa won two of three. The doubles team of David Curtis and Toni Cvitanic won two of its three sets.
The Mustangs host Troy (20-1) tomorrow. The victor will face the winner of the University-Thousand Oaks match in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. All games with the exception of the final round are scheduled for 3 p.m.
Redondo (11-11) eliminated Sonora 13-5 in a wild-card match Tuesday before falling to second-seeded Santa Barbara 15-3 yesterday. In singles play, Robert Teki won two of his three sets and David Levchenko won one.
Fifth-seeded Peninsula (15-6) beat Calabasas 14-4 and will play the San Clemente-Irvine winner Friday. Palos Verdes (12-6) earned the No. 6, opening with a 16-2 win against Sunny Hills. The Sea Kings the Marina-Lutheran/Orange victor in the second round.
In Division 2, Chadwick (11-3) lost to La Canada 11-3 in the first round.
In Division 3, South (16-2) defeated Long Beach Poly 12-6 in the opening round while North (7-8) was eliminated by No. 9 Los Osos 16-2. South advances to face top-seeded Claremont (18-0) Friday.
Del Rey runner-up Bishop Montgomery (14-7) beat Village Christian 16-2 in a wild-card match Tuesday and played at San Dimas yesterday with the winner advancing to play third-seeded Magnolia (17-0) Friday.
Boys Golf
Four golfers from Mira Costa’s boys team advanced to the CIF Southern Section-Toyota Individual Regional tournament to be held Monday, May 24 at Las Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc.
In the Bay League finals, Lawrence Ree and Kyle Nakazaki tied for first place shooting 144 over the two-day tournament at Griffith Park’s Harding Golf Course. David Kim and William Chryar both shot 145 for the Mustangs.
In team competition, Mira Costa won the Central Conference prelims by 11 strokes Monday advancing to the championship finals today beginning at 8 a.m. at Redhawk Golf Club in Temecula. South placed third and will also advance.
Nakazaki led the way for the Mustangs with a 2-under par 70. Michael D’Angelo shot 71, Ryan Ree shot 73, Lawrence Ree shot 76 and David Kim shot 78 in the victory.
The top four teams from the finals advance to the CIF State Boys Golf Tournament presented by Farmers Insurance on Tuesday, June 8 at the Santa Maria Country Club. ER