Local volleyball teams off to fast start in playoffs

Brooks Varni and the Mira Costa Mustangs dive into the CIF Southern Section-Ford playoffs as the third seeded team in Division 1. Photo

With one exception, South Bay teams were victorious in the first round of the CIF Southern Section-Ford Boys Volleyball Championships held Tuesday.

Third-seeded Mira Costa (28-4) swept Newbury Park 25-16, 25-16, 25-14 behind Chris Orenic’s seven kills. Scott Stephanoff recorded six kills and Kevin Inlow had five kills and six digs for the Mustangs who will travel to Santa Margarita for a Division 1 second-round match on Thursday. All matches with the exception of the finals are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals will be played Saturday followed by the semifinals on Tuesday and the finals on Saturday, May 19 at Cypress College.

Mira Costa entered the playoffs the healthiest of the season. Orenic, who had suffered a wrist injury last November, returned to the court for the Redondo Varsity Classic and played in only one league match.

“I feel great right now,” Orenic said. “I love playing and it’s exactly what I need. I feel this team can do great things and make a strong run for the CIF championship.”

Orenic added that his team is focused on playing one match at a time and is not looking past Santa Margarita.

“It won’t be easy playing up there,” Orenic said. “They will bring a lot of energy into their gym. Everyone we play will bring their “A” game against us. There are a lot of teams in Division 1 that can win it all.”

Mira Costa swept second-place Palos Verdes 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 in its Bay League finale last week to capture its 29th league title in the last 32 years.

Redondo defeated host Peninsula 25-17, 22-25, 25-15, 25-11 to conclude league play and finished third in the Bay League but the young Sea Hawks (20-13) saw their season end Tuesday at Thousand Oaks (19-8) with a 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21 loss.

Sophomore Louis Richard had a team-high 19 kills and Vinny Pizzuti added 14 kills for Redondo.

Bay League runner-up Palos Verdes (28-7) is seeded ninth and defeated visiting Tesoro 25-15, 25-22, 25-16 in the first round and will play at No. 8 Westlake Thursday.

In Division 3, Pioneer champion South Torrance (22-4) defeated Cypress 25-14, 25-17, 25-19 and will play at Santa Ynez (12-11). Pioneer runner-up El Segundo (17-5) is seeded ninth and swept Westminster 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 and plays at Western (14-6). North Torrance (14-17) recorded the upset of the first round when the visiting Saxons defeated No. 5 Downey 16-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-21. North hosts No. 8 Rio Mesa (20-8) on Thursday.

Del Rey runner-up Bishop Montgomery (14-16) opened with a 25-8, 25-22, 25-18 home win against Redlands and will travel to take on No. 3 Santa Monica in the second round.

In Division 5, No. 2 Chadwick (18-2) eliminated Arrowhead Christian Academy 25-23, 25-13, 25-15 and will travel to face Laguna Blanca (10-6). Third-seeded Vistamar (16-5) beat visiting Mesrobian 25-4, 25-14, 25-11 and will host No. 10 Ontario Christian in the second round on Thursday.

Complete brackets are available at www.cifss.org.