By Zane Franklin
Staff Writer
After Costa swept their way through the Clovis North Broncos and the Norco Cougars, the Mustang varsity volleyball team faced off against the Mt. Carmel Sun devils in the Division II Southern California regional finals match.
Despite Costa’s loss to Loyola in the CIF finals, the Mustangs proved their ability by defeating the Sundevils in three games at the regionals.
The match was at Irvine Valley College May 29. The Mustangs’ finished with a sweep with scores of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-20. Senior middle/opposite hitter Eric Mochalski led the Mustangs to victory with his consistently smart play and explosive hits.
The game against Mt. Carmel marked the final game for the Mustangs this season. Next year, the Mira Costa team will have many new players due to the loss of several departing seniors.
“The competition wasn’t as high as we thought it would be. We all wanted to play Loyola in stead, but we had a decent game against Mt. Carmel and we rolled them pretty easily,” senior middle/outside hitter Jace Olsen said.
In the beginning of game one, Costa was unable to match the lead that Mt. Carmel quickly accumulated. The Mustangs sluggishly trailed behind with a score of 12-10. However, big serves by Mochalski and a swift kill by Olsen pulled the Mustangs into the lead. Mochalski finished the game with a kill, making the end score 25-18.
“We were all trying to be the kill leaders of the match, but I think everyone played pretty well. We got the win, so that’s all that re ally matters,” Olsen said.
The second game started off close as Costa and Mt. Carmel traded leads back and forth. The Mustangs were nearly taken by the Sundevils, but like in the first game, they bounced back.
Powerful kills by senior opposite hitter Kevin Donohue and junior outside hitter DJ White helped the Mustangs to regain control of the game. Costa maintained its lead for the remainder of the period due to big plays and solid defense. The Mustangs finished the game with an end score of 25-18.
“This was a really good, re warding win for us. We may not have been successful in the finals game against Loyola, but at least we made it this far,” sophomore outside and opposite hitter Chris Orenic said.
Within the first few points of the third game, the Mustangs took a quick lead, which they managed to maintain throughout the rest of the match. Donohue brought in points for Mira Costa with heavy hits in the beginning of the period, which helped the Mustangs jump to an early lead that would be held for the rest of the game.
“I’m just really happy to have done something that has never been done by Costa before. It was great to end the season with a win,” Donohue said.
The Mustangs managed to keep tight control over the game even when the Sundevils scored a few points. Strong defense and playing from many of the other players helped the Mustangs push to victory. A dramatic final kill by Mochalski finished the game and sweep, ending the match with a score of 25-20.
“I think we played pretty strong. Mira Costa has always had a pretty successful volleyball program, and I think that next year’s team will do equally well,” Olsen said.
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