It was a long time coming but the four seniors on Mira Costa’s girls volleyball team finally enjoyed the experience of celebrating a victory over rival Redondo on their home court in the final match of the regular season last Tuesday.
Mira Costa (26-8. 10-0) swept Redondo for the second time this season with a 25-21, 25-17, 25-16 victory in Fisher Gym and has its eyes set on its first CIF championship since 2007.
The Mustangs earned the No. 3 seed in CIF-Southern Section Division 1 and a bye in the first round. Mira Costa will host the winner between Santiago/Corona and Chaparral in the second round on Thursday.
Quarterfinals take place Saturday with the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 8. All matches with the exception of the finals are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Redondo (22-12, 8-2) hosts El Toro (12-10) in the first round on Tuesday.
The win against Redondo capped off Mira Costa’s Senior Night when Britt Bommer, Alexa Underwood, Amanda Montag, and Hannah Scott were acknowledged prior to the match.
Redondo held a 14-11 lead in the first set before the Mustangs roared back with six unanswered points.
Mira Costa dominated the remainder of the match taking a 4-3 lead in the second game and never looked back.
“Obviously it was a very special night for those four seniors,” Mira Costa head coach Hayley Blanchard said. “I think it’s rare that you have a class of girls who have all played such a big role on the court for so many years. Britt and Amanda were both on varsity as freshmen, and Alexa and Hannah made the team as sophomores and immediately had an impact on the court. These four have never had an outright Bay League Championship, something that used to be taken for granted, but is now highly coveted as it’s not an easy task.”
Mira Costa is ranked No. 3 in CIF-Southern Section Division 1 and No. 14 in the MaxPreps State poll. The Mustangs prepared for the upcoming playoffs competing in the highly-competitive Santa Barbara Tournament of Championship last weekend, suffering losses to Torrey Pines and Archbishop Mitty, ranked No. 6 and No. 1, respectively in the state.
“We had a great day on Friday at Santa Barbara, firing on all cylinders much like we did last night, but Saturday just couldn’t get in the same rhythm,” Blanchard said. “Both Torrey Pines and Mitty are respectable losses on paper, but I know that playing at the top of our game we are 100 percent capable of taking both those teams down.
“We have a week to get ready for playoffs, and are going to use that to really break down and work on some skills that we know can be stronger, so we come out an even better team next Tuesday.”
Redondo hosted its own tournament last weekend reaching the final before being swept by Marymount 25-20, 26-24.
Naomi Leilua had 41 kills and Jasmine Davis added 39 for Redondo in four matches. Nalani Iosia contributed 46 digs and 15 aces as all three Sea Hawks were named to the All-Tournament team.
Redondo is ranked No. 9 in CIF-SS Division 1 and Head Coach Tommy Chaffins believes the tough competition his squad has played in the last week is a plus entering the postseason.
“The Varsity Power Classic was a great tournament for the Sea Hawks,” Chaffins said. “We have played a lot of volleyball the last week starting with five sets against Palos Verdes. The Mira Costa-Redondo match is a primer for the playoffs that few teams get. I know it has helped our team prepare for the playoffs and I feel Costa feels the same way.”
In the Division 2 playoffs, Palos Verdes (22-9) is ranked No. 5 and will play at Village Christian (16-14) on Tuesday. Peninsula (13-12) travels to Arroyo Grande (16-3), No. 6 South Torrance (20-9) earned a first-round bye and will play the Chino Hills-Millikan winner. Chadwick (17-4) hosts Louisville (18-12).
In Division 3, No. 5 Bishop Montgomery (18-12) plays at Oxnard (17-9) and West Torrance (9-20) travels to Downey (10-12).
Torrance (13-18) hosts Apple Valley in Division 4 and No. 4 El Segundo (13-7) plays at Highland (16-5) in Division 5.
In Division 6, No. 4 Vistamar (20-5) hosts La Mirada (8-8). Complete brackets are available at cifss.org.
