The Mira Costa-Redondo rivalry hits the sand Saturday when the two schools face each other in the fourth week of competition in the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League (IBVL).
The Bay Division matches that feature three teams from each school begin at 9 a.m. at Dockweiler State Beach. Redondo (4-2) is ranked fifth in the 30-team league and will later play seventh-ranked Long Beach Wilson (5-1) at 11 a.m. Mira Costa (6-0) is ranked No. 2 and will take on Palos Verdes (2-4) at 1 p.m.
Mira Costa is coming off 2-1 wins over the varsity and JV teams from West Torrance. Skylar Caputo and Lan Nguyen dominated their matches by scores of 21-7, 21-12 and 21-10, 21-5. Carley Muller and Emma Smith defeated West’s varsity squad 19-21, 21-10, 15-5 before knocking off the JV team 21-10, 21-15.
The Mustang’s third team forfeited both matches.
Redondo swept Windward and the West JV team on Saturday with its No. 1 team of Dominique Dodd and Brittany Ungermann holding off Windward 21-14, 20-22, 15-8 and beating West’s JV team 21-4, 21-8.
Andrea Gonzalez and Skye Compton won their matches 21-13, 21-17 and 21-14, 21-10 while the team of Liana Marin and Callie De Los Reyes were victorious in its matches 21-12, 21-15 and 21-7, 21-1.
In a highlighted match of the day, Hermosa Beach’s Zana Muno and Callan Kinnan gave top-ranked Valencia all it could handle while playing as the No. 1 team for Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
Muno and Kinnan dropped an exciting match to Valencia’s top team of Delaney Knudsen and Sierra Sanchez 23-21, 20-22, 23-21.
In 2012, Muno became the first player, male or female, to win the Triple Crown on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) beach volleyball circuit. She captured the National Championship, Junior Olympics and Best of the Beach tournaments with three different partners.
The IBVL regular season concludes Saturday, April 27 when Mira Costa faces Long Beach Wilson and Harvard-Westlake and Redondo takes on West Torrance Varsity and Palos Verdes.
Playoffs begin Thursday, May 9 with the wildcard round, followed first-round matches on Friday, May 10 and quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches on Saturday, May 11.
