Staff Writer
The Mira Costa boys volleyball team swept Palos Verdes High School at an away game on Monday, finishing first in Bay League and advancing to CIF.
In the first game, Costa came out strong with three unanswered points. The boys continued their lead and after a dig and a kill from senior captain outside hitter Riley Mallon, the Mustangs’ led 13-7. After several points, senior libero Dillon Shambaugh had a diving save to senior outside hitter Grant Chalmers to bring Costa up 19-15. Mallon won the game point in the first match with a kill to end at 25-22.
“Palos Verdes put up a huge block against us on game point, but thanks to Grant’s strategic positioning in his set, I was able to get the ball into the deep angle to close the game out,” Mallon said.
In the second game, Costa came out strong once again and quickly got a lead on Palos Verdes. Senior wing spiker Casey White served an ace to bring the score to 15-8, followed by kills by Chalmers and junior opposite hitter Connor Inlow. The game ended with Palos Verdes serving into the net, bringing the final score to 25-14.
“We kind of let up at the end of the first game,” White said. “In the second game, we focused on playing with the same kind of drive and intensity throughout.”
Desperately needing a win, Palos Verdes came out strong with four unanswered points in the third game. After a kill from Inlow that tied the score at 5-5, Inlow continued to serve for five more Costa points. Senior middle blocker Miles Johnson clinched the game with a kill, ending it at 25-14 and finishing the match.
Costa’s next game will take place on May 9 against an undetermined opponent due to the time of publication.
“After the first two games, we knew if we came out strong in game three we could win,” Inlow said. “If we were to give a good team like them any confidence, we knew we would have to really battle in order to win.”
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