Noki Lam
Staff Writer
On Oct. 8th, 2022, Mira Costa Boys Beach Volleyball won their sixth consecutive Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League championship in Hermosa Beach. Costa has dominated the IBVL, only losing once in the league’s seven-year history.
“Winning is really fun,” coach Kyle Denitz said. “The older players remind the younger [players] to keep the streak going.”
Mira Costa’s teams were junior Stone Seligson with senior Garrett Gronbach, juniors Zach Chapin and Tread Rosenthal, and senior Jason Walmer and junior Victor Loiola. They received a bye in the first round, then won against Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara before facing off against the #2 seed, San Marcos.
Chapin and Rosenthal beat the San Marcos team, 21-8 in the first set, then won 21-14 in the best of three match. Seligson and Gronbach won against the San Marcos pair they played 21-12 in the first set, and 21-15 in the second.
Walmer and Loiola were ranked as the IBVL’s #1 team. They won the first match 21-14 before Walmer experienced severe cramps and was unable to stand after finishing the first set.
“I was able to fight the pain by telling myself this is the last time I’ll ever play for Costa [beach] volleyball again. It was also my birthday, so I had to go out on a win,” Walmer said. “It was also for my grandma who passed away on October 9th, 2020. She taught me everything [about volleyball] and I had to win it for her most importantly.”
Walmer willed his way back into the game after having to be carried off the court after the first
by his teammate Loiola. The pair battled San Marcos’s top team in a close set Costa won 21-19.
According to Denitz, Costa Boys Beach Volleyball hopes to continue their winning streak in the
2023-24 season, with most of their team returning.
“I was taught to never be satisfied,” Coach Denitz said. “We are going to take each season as it’s own.”
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