In what is virtually a rematch of the 2011 USA Volleyball Junior National Championship match, the boys volleyball teams from Mira Costa and Loyola will face off Friday at 7 p.m. in the Loyola Marymount University gym.
With the exception of the starting setters, Friday’s meeting between the rival schools will pit members of the Southern California Volleyball Club (SCVC) (Mira Costa team with Loyola setter Michael Mullahey) and Manhattan Beach Surf (Loyola team with Mira Costa setter Jackson Carr) club teams who played each other in the USAV Junior National Championship match last summer in Minneapolis.
Battling through a field of 85 teams from the USA and Puerto Rico, the two teams played for the title with SCVC capturing the national championship with a late rally in the third game to erase a 12-9 deficit.
Mira Costa will look to avenge a 25-12, 25-19 loss to Loyola in the Best of the West tournament. The win moved Loyola into the No. 1 spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings while knocking Mira Costa from the top into the third spot.
The match features eight players who will compete at Division 1 universities next season including local players Brooks Varni (USC), the injured Christopher Orenic (USC) and Carr (George Mason) of Mira Costa along with Loyola standouts Parker Boehle (LMU) and Mullahey (LMU).
Orenic and Mullahey are past members for USA’s Youth National Team and both are two time gold medalists for the USA at the USAV High Performance Championships.
Prior to its match against Loyola, the Mustangs will play a league contest at West on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Coach Mike Ninnis’ Mira Costa team will spend part of its spring break in Hawaii where the team will face Hawaii Baptist on Friday, April 6 and perennial power Punahou the following day.
Track and Field
Mira Costa will host the 18th edition of the Mustang Relays Saturday beginning with field events at 9:30 a.m. followed by running events at 10 a.m.
Approximately 25 schools will compete including local teams from Redondo, Palos Verdes, West, El Segundo, North, Bishop Montgomery, Torrance and Chadwick.
Also expected to compete are Beverly Hills, Cerritos, Crescenta Valley, Culver City, Firebaugh, Loyola, Marlborough, Millikan, Notre Dame Academy, Quartz Hill, Rowland, Santa Monica and Servite.
Relay events include 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 races.
