Mira Costa’s girls volleyball team learned a lesson in Las Vegas last weekend but came away feeling like winners.
The Mustangs finished 7th among 64 teams in the prestigious Durango Fall Classic but held their own in the two losses that came at the hands of nationally-ranked teams.
“The experience of competing in the tournament was unmatchable for our girls while playing at the highest level possible for high school volleyball,” Mira Costa coach Hayley Lawson-Blanchard said. “The teams we played in the Championship Bracket were really an entire different level of play than the competition we had seen up until this point.”
After winning its pool with victories over Beckman, Clovis and Centennial (Las Vegas), Mira Costa swept CIF Southern Section Division 1AA rival Los Alamitos 25-19, 25-15 in the first round of the Championship Bracket play,
Mira Costa entered the tournament ranked No. 5 in CIF-SS Division 1AA, one spot ahead of Los Alamitos.
The Mustangs advanced to face Sacred Heart, of Louisville, Kentucky, the 11th ranked team in the nation. Mira Costa rebounded from a 25-22 loss in the first set to win the second set 25-21 before dropping the deciding game 25-22.
In the Consolation semifinals, Mira Costa fell to the 6th ranked team in the nation Xavier Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) 25-18, 24-26, 25-20 before defeating Vista Murrieta 25-19, 25-17 in the 7th place match.
“Both of our losses to Sacred Heart and Xavier Prep were more like college games than high school games,” Lawson-Blanchard said. “We took a game from each of those opponents and it was just a difference of a few errors on our part that would have changed the outcome. The girls learned just how close we are to being top 10 in the nation as we evenly battled those two teams.”
Mira Costa was led by setter Erin McCarthy, who was selected to the All-Tournament team after spreading the ball around to the many options the Mustangs possess on offense, including high scoring Alexa Underwood and Hannah Scott and Hannah Schriner on the other outside slots.
“Ashley Anselmo came up huge on the right side with putting the ball away and blocking the other teams’ superstars,” Lawson-Blanchard said. “Piper Monk-Heidrich in the middle was a giant block and came a long way on the offensive side for us over the course of the weekend.”
Emma Smith and Sara Feld anchored the defense for Mira Costa (10-2) who will play at Flintridge Sacred-Heart in a 6:30 p.m. match on Thursday.
The Mustangs begin their quest to reclaim the Bay League crown on Wednesday, Sept. 30 with a road match at Palos Verdes.
Defending Bay League, CIF and State champion Redondo came away with two road victories last week sweeping Orange Lutheran and Bishop Montgomery after defeating visiting 4th-ranked Mater Dei in three sets in a rematch of last year’s CIF and Southern California championship matches.
Ranked No. 1 in Division 1AA, the Sea Hawks played at No. 7 Marymount in a final tune-up before league action begins.
“The kids are playing really well and there’s a nice rhythm they’ve established,” Chaffins said. “We’ve been playing at a high level and don’t tend to make many errors. Our defense has been great.”
Redondo will compete in the Seventh Annual NIKE Tournament of Champions Oct. 1-3 in Phoenix, Ariz. where 80 of the most elite teams in the nation will showcase their talent. ER
