Brian Kaiserman
Sports Editor
Mira Costa’s girls volleyball team fought valiantly Thursday night, but eventually fell short in a heartbreaking loss to archrival Redondo Union.
The Mustangs faced the Redondo Union Seahawks in front of a packed crowd at home, but despite Costa’s raucous fans the Seahawks managed to remain focused as they pulled out a nail biting 15-13 fifth set win, taking home the 3-2 victory.
“We fought really hard as a team throughout the entire game, but we had a difficult time stopping them when they got on big runs,” junior middle Memphis Glasgow said.
The Mustangs held a slim lead throughout the first set and closed it out 25-21. In the second set the Mustangs continued their momentum, beginning with a big 12-7 lead following key blocks from junior outside Sami Underwood.
“I thought that our energy was through the roof and I think the crowd definitely had something to do with that,” Underwood said. “We did a great job with our offensive and defensive intensity.”
Although the Mustangs appeared to be heading towards a second set win, they were unable to close out the set. Much to the chagrin of the Costa faithful in attendance, the Mustangs made a few too many mistakes down the stretch, allowing the Seahawks to even the score after winning the set 27-25.
“We just needed to execute the small things better in a few points,” Underwood said. “We need to learn how to finish a little bit better in those really close games but we will definitely work on that and take it to them next time.”
After squandering its opportunities late in the second set, Costa was unable to regain the momentum in the third set. The Seahawks capitalized on an early lead and never looked back, winning the set with relative ease.
“We need to work on being a little more organized in regards to blocking and making a few more plays on defense, but I don’t think there was much we did poorly tonight,” coach Austin Rester said.
The Mustangs managed to retake control of the match after dominating in the fourth set, winning it 25-18. After a back and forth final set, Costa managed to get within one point of tying up the score, but a missed serve ended the set and the match as the Mustangs came up just short, losing 15-13 in the final set.
“I thought that we won the serve and pass battle throughout the entire match,” Rester said. “I also thought that our kids played incredibly hard and I couldn’t be happier about the way we played.”
The Mustangs are now 5-3 overall and 3-1 in Bay League. They will look to bounce back next Tuesday when they take on the Peninsula Panthers in a road matchup.
“I think that we can get better in a lot of ways if our overall intensity is higher during practices,” Rester said. “I think they’re buying in and I couldn’t be more proud of those kids.”
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