By Courtney Hughey
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls volleyball team beat Chaminade High School on Sept. 18 at home in a three-game sweep, making the girls’ current record 5-7.
In the first game, both teams struggled defensively, but Costa was able to dominate on offense. Senior outside hitters Grayce Campbell and Lexi Millington had key kills that helped contribute to the team’s 14-point win in the first game.
“Coming off a long tournament in Vegas, our team knew that we had to focus on our passing and energy level, and the rest would fall into place,” Campbell said.
However, Costa’s win in the first game did not come without challenges, as Chaminade was able to maintain long rallies for several points. Despite this, Costa stayed focused and was able to hold its lead throughout the first game.
“I thought we had a great start to the match against Chaminade,” coach Lisa Arce-Zimmerman said. “Bain and Campbell had great games. We enjoyed playing at home in front of a loud crowd.”
Chaminade came back offensively in the second game, keeping the score close. Throughout the majority of the game, the Eagles kept a two-point lead by taking advantage of careless mistakes by Costa.
“As a team, we should have communicated more on the court,” Costa sophomore outside hitter Jerephina Leilua said. “We should have been more consistent with our passing and hitting as well.”
Costa fought against Chaminade’s lead with Campbell’s seven kills during the second game, and senior setter Corie Bain accounted for nine assists. Toward the end of the second game, Bain also had four blocks that helped Costa win the game and jump to a 2-0 lead in the match.
“We did a great job keeping our intensity up throughout the match,” Bain said. “We were able to do the small things, which were necessary to win.”
In the start of the third game, Millington and senior middle blocker Kylie Taylor had blocks which helped set the precedent for the rest of the game. Coming in as a substitute, Leilua managed a total of eight kills during the third game with the help of Bain’s 15 assists.
By the middle of the third game, Costa had gained a 12-point lead over Chaminade. The team continued to play well defensively as senior libero Carley Muller led the team with 18 digs. This put the team in a position to win the third and final game of the match.
“I felt like we were really solid on the defensive end,” Muller said. “We reached a certain level of comfort last night and really got in to a groove in the back row.”
Although the girls are proud of the win against Chaminade, they realize they must focus on their next match, which will be their first Bay League match of the season against Palos Verdes High School at Palos Verdes on Sept. 26.
“It was really good for our team to be able to come off a tiring weekend with a win,” Campbell said. “Now we need to focus on doing well the rest of the season.”
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