Mira Costa rules the court
- Eric Mochalski records a kill off a set from Bryce Miller during Mira Costa’s sweep of rival Loyola. Photo
It’s a long road to a CIF championship, so normally a single non-league win played two weeks before league action even begins wouldn’t count for much. Don’t tell that to Mira Costa’s boys volleyball team.
The Mustangs sweep over Loyola Saturday evening not only avenged Mira Costa’s lone regular season loss in 2009, it gave bragging rights to the victor in what has become a deep rivalry between the perennial powers.
Although the campuses are 23 miles apart, it’s not unusual for Loyola to have at least a few players from Manhattan Beach on its talent-laden roster and this year is no exception. Athletes such as Kurtis Mirick, Ryan Zoppi and Michael Mullahey commute from the beach city to compete for the Cubs, a team that also has over a handful of players who have played volleyball for the Manhattan Beach Surf Club.
Thousands of fans packed the larger Redondo Union High School gym to watch the match that featured arguably the two best high school volleyball teams in southern California.
Although Mira Costa’s sweep propelled the Mustangs into the No. 1 spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, the 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 margin of victory is indicative of how close the two programs are.
Eric Mochalski recorded nine kills and five blocks for Mira Costa. Kevin Donohue added seven kills and Jace Olson had five.
Kevin Fender and the Redondo Sea Hawks begin their quest for a Bay League crown Tuesday against West. Photo
The Mustangs continue their tough non-league schedule this week, knowing the high level of competition will pay dividends as they make their run toward a CIF title. Mira Costa scored a big road win Tuesday with a 25-15, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17 victory at Orange Lutheran (No. 10 in Division 1). Mochalski had 14 kills and 12 blocks, D.J. White had 14 kills and Donohue contributed nine kills and nine blocks for the Mustangs.
Mira Costa will travel to Newport Harbor to take on the division’s sixth-ranked team Saturday at 6 p.m. The team returns from Spring Break to open its Bay League season at Redondo April 8.
Redondo begins its run for a Bay League title Tuesday when the Sea Hawks host West at 5:15 p.m. Coach Duncan Avery’s squad has its final non-league tune-up match at 5:45 p.m. today at Harvard-Westlake.
The Sea Hawks are coming off an impressive 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 26-24 win over Thousand Oaks, the fifth-ranked team in Division 2. Ryan Olson recorded 23 kills and nine digs and Trevor Butler added 19 kills and four blocks in the victory.
In a non-league match last week, Redondo posted a 25-8, 25-16, 26-24 victory over visiting Bishop Montgomery, the No. 4 team in the Division 4 poll. Riley Theunissen led the way with 13 kills while Kevin Fender had 10 digs and Austin Moore added six kills and five blocks for Redondo. ER