Mira Costa’s girls volleyball team showed its improvement in the regular season finale Tuesday, but Redondo Union remains the top dog in the Bay League as both teams enter next week’s CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs.
In a match that was closer than the first meeting between the rivals on Oct. 17, the Sea Hawks swept the Mustangs 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 to capture their third Bay League crown in four years and second consecutive outright title.
The vocal crowd that packed Sea Hawk Pavilion saw two of the top teams in Southern California. Redondo (29-5, 8-0) is ranked No. 2 in Division 1-AA and Mira Costa (22-8, 6-2) had moved up to the No. 4 spot in the most recent poll.
“I know the talent and pride that Mira Costa has, but I wasn’t surprised (at the outcome), although I know Costa has the talent and desire to beat us as well,” Redondo head coach Tommy Chaffins said.
Mira Costa took a 23-22 lead in the third set before Redondo fought back with three straight points behind the strong play of four-year starter Briana Lanktree and newcomer Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani, who has one month of experience with the Sea Hawks after her transfer from Marymount required her to sit out until Oct. 7.
Bedart-Ghani recorded a match-high 14 kills and added four digs. Lanktree had 11 kills and nine digs,
Sophomore setter Norene Iosia spread the ball around recording 41 assists while added three blocks and nine digs. Abril Bustamante contributed seven kills, Kristen Hamlin posted five kills and five blocks, Katie Barkley had 13 digs and Hayes Honea added eight digs for Redondo.
Mira Costa outside hitter Lan Nguyen turned in a stellar performance, leading the Mustangs with 13 kills. Skylar Caputo added seven kills, Katie Rethmeyer posted six kills and two blocks and Keala Rusher served three aces.
“I think our play in the middle is much improved from last time we played Redondo,” Mira Costa head coach Lisa Zimmerman said. “Katie (Rethmeyer) and Erin (Sagisi) are doing a great job of being available to hit, we just did not pass well enough last night to take advantage of it. Also, we were not as in sync on defense as we were at the tournament last weekend. We need to find that team defense for CIF, but I am confident that it will be there.”
Both teams enter the playoffs after impressive showings in tournament action last weekend.
Redondo won its own tournament, claiming the 32-team Redondo Power Classic for the second straight year with a 25-14, 26-24 win over Scripps Ranch
Lanktree, who will attend Virginia Tech next year, was named MVP of the tournament after recording eight kills in the championship match and five kills in the Sea Hawk’s 25-17, 25-15 semifinal win over Oaks Christian, the second-ranked team in Division 2-AA. She posted 22 kills and 18 digs on Friday when Redondo defeated Rio Mesa, North Torrance and Notre Dame Academy.
Bedart-Ghani, Bustamante and Iosia also earned all-tournament honors.
“I am happy for Briana,” Chaffins said. “She is on a short list of four-year starters from day 1 (the others are Skylar and Lara Dykstra, Rebecca Saraceno, and Tiffany Morales). Bri has been an outstanding leader this year and girls respect Bri for the person she is and how hard she works every day.”
Playing in the highly-competitive Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, Mira Costa finished fourth after dropping two close matches. The Mustangs fell to La Salle, the top ranked team in Division 1-A, 25-17, 24-26, 26-24, 27-25 in the semifinals lost to second-seeded Valley Christian 25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10.
Caputo had 23 kills in the two matches, Nguyen and Rethmeyer each posted 16 kills and setter Sammy Furlan recorded 38 assists.
Mira Costa opened play of Friday with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-12 win over Newport Harbor and then stunned Torrey Pines 20-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-16 handing the Falcons only their third loss of the season. The MaxPreps.com poll had Torrey Pines ranked No. 1 in the state.
CIF Southern Section playoff seedings and brackets will be available Saturday at cifss.org. Redondo has reached the finals in two of the last three seasons. The Sea Hawks fell to Marymount in last year’s championship match.
With plenty of playoff experience under his belt, Chaffins is well aware of the strength of competition in Division 1-AA and hopes this year’s squad will rise to the occasion.
“Each of our teams has had its own personality and is different,” Chaffins said. “I believe we are getting better each day, and we need to continue to do that.”
Mira Costa is looking for a deeper run in the playoff after suffering second-round losses in the last three seasons, the last two coming at the hands of Orange Lutheran.
