By Zane Franklin
Staff Writer
When a team has only four returning players from the previous year’s varsity lineup, spectators usually assume that the team will need rebuilding. Costa defies this notion with a team that started the season ready to perform.
When the Mustang boys volleyball team traveled to Santa Barbara High School on March 4 for its first game of the year, the team was unsure of its prospects.
Despite this uncertainty, defeating the Dons in four games sets Costa up to perform highly in Bay League games.
Costa finished with a 3-1 overall score in the match. The team won the first, third, and fourth sets 25-13, 25-16 and 25-17, respectively and lost the second game of the match with a score of 25-20.
“It was a good fresh start for us,” senior outside hitter DJ White said. “A lot of guys stepped up during the game and a bunch of our starters came through.”
Costa, who now has a record of 1-0, will be traveling to Poway High School in San Diego to participate in the Best of the West Tournament with 32 other California high schools. Costa will compete today and tomorrow.
“Best of the West is one of the most competitive tournaments out there in our league,” coach Mike Ninnis said. “I’m sure we’ll know a whole lot more about the team after we see how we play in that tournament.”
White and the rest of Costa’s starters pulled off several vital plays and hits to give the team an easy victory in the first set.
The tides turned for Costa during the second set, however. The Mustangs lacked the same strength that they had in the first set and made several careless mistakes, which gave Santa Barbara a lead that the boys were unable to recover. Santa Barbara stole the set 25-20.
“We did very well the first game, but in the second, the team made a lot of errors,” Ninnis said. “Luckily, they were able to rebound in the third and fourth. It was nice to see that they righted the ship.”
Tied 1-1 in sets and in dire need of a finisher, Costa was aggressive and consistent in the third and fourth games, just as it had been in the first set.
With help from senior opposite hitter Jake Miller’s explosive offense, claiming six kills, and junior outside hitter Chris Orenic’s numerous kills and blocks, Costa was able to recover from its stumbles. The team closed out the game with scores of 25-16 in the third set and 25-17 in the final set.
“Everybody played well,” White said. “It looks like we are going to have a pretty good season this year.”
White led the Mustangs with 15 kills. Orenic had nine kills and junior middle blockers Karl Acres and Keith Waddell each slammed down seven kills. Senior setter Kameron Bain helped the Mustangs to obtain the victory with 46 assists.
“There was not just one or two people contributing to our scores in the game,” Ninnis said. “We had a really balanced offense.”
Most of the team’s new players had chances to play against Santa Barbara and will be put to the test today in the upcoming tournament.
“[This game] was a positive first experience for the team,” Ninnis said. “There was a lot of enthusiasm, and I saw a lot of good chemistry happening on the court.”
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