Girls Beach Volleyball wins Inaugural State Championship

Cara Martinez

Staff Writer

Mira Costa Girls beach volleyball takes another win, receiving first place in its first Inaugural State Championship meet 71th win streak

Mira Costa Girls played semifinals against Branson 2-0 and finals against Palisades Charter 2-0 on May 31 in Chatsworth.

Senior Rio Frohoff and sophomore Riley Hazelrigg made up the third seed team.They won their first game 21-7 and Palisades forfeited in their second game. Hazelrigg said that they worked on communication, setting tight, and trying to get the ball down.

“I feel that Rio really led the team and I feel we played really well together,”Hazelrigg said. “It was really good outcome and this was the first ever state game there was. “We are all really happy with the outcome and we kept our winning streak.”

The second seed team consist of seniors Maddie Micheletti and Alexia Inman who won both of their sets 21-9 and 21-4. Micheletti said that they used the heat to their advantage and performed faster momentum volleyball plays to score points.

“We were really efficient and we got our games over with earlier so we had enough time to rest,” Micheletti said. “We didn’t make many mistakes which was nice.”

The first seed team consisting of senior Sunny Villapando and junior Piper Monk won their first set 21-16 and did not finish their game due to wins from the second and third seeded teams. Monk said that the team worked on playing two down defense and staying quick despite of the heat.

“We played really well together and we were consistent,” Monk said. “It was a really cool experience because it was the first time there was a state tournament.”

The Mustangs ended their season 16-0 overall and were first in Bay League and the IVBL Championships. Micheletti said that during this season they worked the most on serve receive which was one of the most fundamental things they could do to score points. They focused on recognizing tendencies of the other teams so therefore they can get points.

“The team saved their best performance for state,” Coach Eric Fonoimoana said. “This team was the most physical and dominant team I’ve coached in the last five years.”