By Ashley Weaver
Staff Writer
The Mustangs could not land the ball in their court and took their first ever loss to Palos Verdes in school history, 3-1.
Mira Costa girls volleyball faced off against Palos Verdes High School on Tuesday, at Palos Verdes. The Sea Kings defeated the Mustangs, 3-1.
“When we lost, it was completely disappointing,” senior setter Jenny Jenks said. “We all knew it shouldn’t have happened, and we knew that we lost that game rather than getting beat. It was completely our fault, so it stung pretty badly.”
Palos Verdes came out strong with a 7-2 lead. According to Jenks, the team has been training hard to prepare for this game, but Palos Verdes’ home court advantage helped the Sea Kings close out a 25-20 win in the first set.
“After the first set we knew we had to step it up for the second if we wanted a chance,” senior outside hitter Kate Reilly said. “We did not come out as focused as Palos Verdes, and it showed on the court.”
Going into the second set, Costa was ready to make a comeback, according to Reilly. Senior Erica Griffiths brought the energy level up and helped the defense. Griffiths also had a seven-point serving streak, helping Costa defeat Palos Verdes, 25-17, in the second set.
“The second set showed us that we can win and take the match from Palos Verdes,” senior Taila Genova said. “Losing set one forced us to keep pushing throughout the game.”
With Costa and Palos Verdes each taking a set, the third set was crucial. The Mustangs had strong digs throughout the set, and senior Ella Synder set up a strong offense for the Mustangs to execute their plays. The Mustangs were unable to hold back the Sea Kings and fell short, 28-26, in the third set.
“The third set was a turning point, and I think that it was obvious that the winner of that set would win the match,” Genova said. “We didn’t start fighting until too late in the game.”
Going into the fourth and final set, the Mustangs started out strong, but the Sea Kings began to gain momentum. Strong hits on the outside throughout the game from Reilly and junior Nikki Underwood were not enough to defeat the Sea Kings. The fourth set ended in an 25-18 loss for Costa.
“I was very disappointed after the fourth match,” Reilly said. “PV showed up to compete, and we didn’t execute well. PV played really well, and we deserved to lose.”
The Mustangs played in their second Bay League match against Peninsula High School on Thursday at the Manhattan Beach Middle School, but the results were not available at the time of press.
“We want to win Bay League, and we can’t do that if we keep thinking like we are right now,” Jenks said. “For our next game we expect to come out determined and focused in order to get back to the way we want to play and know we can play.”
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