By Cassandra Kellum
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s girls beach volleyball team dug up another win against Palisades Charter High School, beating out their opponent with excellent offensive shots and defensive plays throughout the game.
The team played their second tournament of the year on Saturday at Dockweiler State Beach. After a long battle against the Dophins, Costa took the victory and proved to be an unstoppable offensive force in all of their matches, sweeping the Dolphins.
“Many of our players couldn’t play this weekend, so finding players to compete was a little tough, but overall the tournament was a success,” sophomore Ava Gallien said.
In the first match against the Dolphins, the Mustangs came out firing with Gallien and junior Olivia Bakos. The duo performed well on offense, racking up most of their points with excellent serving, coach Nancy Mason said.
“On the road to winning, our coach provided helpful tips throughout the tournament, which helped us win,” Gallien said.
The Mustangs took the lead early in the first set of the second match and never looked back due to smart tips and kills to the back court. Gallien and Bakos finished the first set 21-9 with good serves and high energy, Gallien said. In the second set, they relied on smart shots and managed to have a strong balance of over-sets and kills that contributed to another 21-9 win. Gallien and Bakos owe much of their success to their strong chemistry, which is not only a result of being cousins but also from years of playing together and working as a team. They also have gained experence by playing on the same club team.
“I think that having a tough serve helped us gain a big lead throughout both of our matches, setting us up for the win,” Gallien said.
Freshmen Jenna Colligan and Savannah Standage came out strong in the final match against Palisades, defeating their opponents 21-8 in both of their sets. Colligan and Standage also relied on impressive serving to earn the victory. The coaches pulled the freshmen up to varsity due to their skills, work ethic and the need for players because many varsity players were out of town.However, due to windy conditions during the game, players had to take extreme caution in order to keep the ball in the court.
“The tournament made our team more confident since we have not played in many tournaments this year,” Standage said. “It felt good to come back on top.”
The Mustangs’ win against the Palisades Dolphins solidified their 91st consecutive win, earning them a first place ranking in Bay League. The team plans on remaining calm and staying focused during practices in order to reach their goal of 100 consecutive wins, Standage said.
“With many practices and help from our coach, we will continue to perform game-like drills to prepare us for future matches,” Gallien said.
Costa will play Santa Monica High School and Notre Dame High School at Dockweiler State Beach tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. The team plans to continue high level practices to prepare them for their next tournament, Gallien said.
“Our coach, Nancy Mason, is really good at calming us down before a game, and we will continue to follow that during our next tournament,” Standage said.
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