Bobby Wymbs
Staff Writer
The girls volleyball team ended its season in a five set nail biter against Los Alamitos High School in the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs on Nov. 16, following a victory against Marymount.
In the first set, Costa lost to Los Alamitos, 25-23, but was able to make a comeback in the second set, winning, 29-27. The Mustangs continued to dominate the game, resulting in a 25-20 win in the third set.
The Mustangs held the lead for part of the fourth set, but could not maintain it, losing 27-25. In the final set of the game, Los Alamitos took a big lead, leading to a Mustangs’ defeat of 15-7. Senior outside hitter Lan Nguyen led the team with 18 kills.
“The team played with no fear, and we ran into a tough team,” coach Lisa Zimmerman said.
In the game against Marymount on Nov. 14, the Mustangs defeated the Sailors in four sets. The Mustangs had a strong start, winning 25-14 in the first set, and they managed to take the second set, 25-16. However, the Sailors bounced back, winning, 25-19, in the third set. During the back-and-forth final set, Costa responded with a 25-21 win. Junior middle blocker Katie Rethmeyer had five blocks to help carry the Mustangs to victory.
“We knew that we had lost to them before and we wanted to prove that we were better” sophomore defensive specialist Emma Smith said.
In the first round of CIF, the Mustangs had to get past Long Beach Poly High School. In the first set, Costa fell to the Jackrabbits, 25-18, but Costa responded in the second set with a 25-18 win. Costa also took the third set, 25-19, and pulled away in the fourth set with a 25-22 win. Helping Costa advance was junior outside hitter Skylar Caputo, with 19 kills.
The Mustangs had a strong season, finishing 24-9 overall and 6-2 in Bay League.
“We took down many higher-ranked teams, and played the CIF champions tougher than any other team,” Zimmerman said. “We may not have been the tallest or most experienced, but we played great volleyball.”
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