Volleyball loses to Marymount

Zane Franklin
Staff Writer

In an away match against the Marymount Sailors, the Mira Costa girls volleyball team almost finished with a win but failed to close strongly. The outcome of the match was decided in its final moments and the Mustangs were beaten by Marymount during the fifth game.

The match was non-league and took place at Marymount High School on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Seniors Emma White and Ella Rosenfeld each made 16 kills, making them stand out as players. The Mustangs lost to Marymount in five games with close scores of 25-17, 21-25, 22-25, 27-25 and 15-17.

“It was a solid team effort. We played well for a while but we got to a point where we just made too many errors at the wrong time,” coach Lisa Zimmerman said.

The Mustangs (0-2) will be traveling to Las Vegas today for the Durango Fall Classic Tournament where they will play teams from California as well as some from out-of-state.

“The tournament will be tough and we’re really going to have to play strong. We’ll do well in the season if we win the right games, but it will be a tough test,” Zimmerman said.

During the game against Marymount, White helped the Mustangs quickly take the first game 25-17 by winning several points off her serve.

In the second and third games, the Mustangs encountered a stronger Marymount offense. Costa’s weaknesses were exposed, and the Sailors attacked diligently. Even though the Mustangs came close to coming back, they lost the two games at 25-21 and 25-22, respectively.

“We had just come out of a hard loss against Edison and went straight to playing against one of our biggest rivals. We got too cocky and they scored points they shouldn’t have,” Rosenfeld said.

Costa made a much-needed comeback in the fourth game. Serves by junior Mandy Smith and assistance from the team’s seniors helped the Mustangs overcome Marymount in a last-second win of 27-25.

“Our seniors are definitely our strongest players and as a whole we are a very cohesive team,” Zimmerman said.

The fifth game began and the Mustangs seemed evenly matched with the Sailors; it was clear that it was going to be a close call. The Mustangs were only a point away from winning, but in the final plays, the outcome of the game was decided as Costa was defeated 17-15.

“We played well and had good defense, but we made errors that happened at the wrong time,” Zimmerman said.