By Rebecca Hext
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa boys volleyball team played their first CIF game at home against El Toro High School on Tuesday, May 7. The boys won in three games and will advance on to the second round of CIF.
In the first game, Costa came out strong with five unanswered points. Senior Grant Chalmers had two blocks in a row bringing Costa up to an eight point lead with a score of 19-11. The Mustangs took the win with a final score of 25-12.
“We had a couple good point runs that gave us a solid lead over El Toro,” Chalmers said. “Once our boys get some momentum, it’s hard to stop us.”
The boys came out in the second game with this momentum still strong. Senior captain Riley Mallon had a six point serving streak lengthening Costa’s lead over El Toro. Mallon totaled five kills in the game, as well as two blocks. Senior Miles Johnson got two kills, with his second being the game point, bringing the final score of the second game to 25-10 in Costa’s favor.
“We were really focused during that game,” Mallon said. “We all knew what we needed to do, and that’s exactly what we did.”
In the third game El Toro came out strong and quickly gained a lead with four unanswered points. However, Costa came back with three kills from senior Scott Stephanoff. El Toro kept the lead until junior Connor Inlow got two kills in a row, bringing the score to 11-10 in Costa favor. Johnson won the game point for Costa once again in the third and final game, with a final score of 25-20, and winning the match.
“We worked well as a team in that last game,” Johnson said. “Our passes were on and we were communicating very well.”
The boys next game will take place at home on Thursday, May 9.
“It’s always nice when the majority of the team gets a chance to play in a match,” Inlow said. “Our team is extremely deep, so it’s a pleasure to get to see everyone play.”
Leave a Reply