MiraCosta junior setter Andrew Chapin led the Mustangs to a four-set victory over Corona del Mar on Saturday, advancing to next week's CIF-SS Division 1 finals (Photo by Damian Calhoun, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
MANHATTAN BEACH The MiraCosta boys volleyball team had one final hurdle to clear in order to return to the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 finals.
After winning their first two pool games, the second-seeded Mustangs had to deal with a matchup Saturday against Corona del Mar, a team they defeated earlier this season.
After winning the first two sets, Mira Costa hit a roadblock to a potential sweep, but righted the ship in time in the fourth set, 25-12, 25-21, 19-25, 25 -22 for the win.
“In the third set, it started to be flat and we started playing nervously,” junior setter Andrew Chapin said. “By the fourth set, I was down in the middle, but then I realized I was being energized and I was able to get that (energy) back and I thought I was able to finish the job. .”
The Mustangs (36-3) trailed by three points early in the fourth, 18-16. From there, Mira Costa scored four consecutive points to take a 20-18 lead and aim to advance to the finals.
Leading 20-19, Mira Costa added two points on combination blocks from Stone Seligson and Alex Hines, and added three points in a row.
“We had two bad losses,” Chapin said. “I don't think we should have lost two, but the one loss was against them at the beginning of the season. Tonight was a great win. It was a good come-from-behind win.”
The night could have gone differently for the Mustangs. Mira Costa controlled play in the first set, but fell behind 5-0 in the second, unable to take its first lead on a kill from Mateo Fuerbringer, 14-13. It was a back-and-forth game from there, with Corona del Mar taking the lead again at 19-18.
The Mustangs grabbed a set point with a kill from Cooper Keene and took a 2-0 lead on an ace from Victor Loiola to end the second set.
“We knew there was going to be a reaction,” Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said. “I still think we were a better team than them and I thought if you saw how we played, we would actually blow them away.
“I thought they were a little dejected after winning the first two (sets). I knew they were going to rally. It was going to go either way, we were their best punch. It was either they were going to roll out or they were going to fold in the towel, and I knew in the second set that they weren't going to fold in the towel, which was mentally necessary to get through the third set. I thought I had the advantage, but as expected, the third set was definitely a battle.”
The Mustangs will have another chance to avenge another loss when they face top-seeded Loyola in the finals on Saturday at Cerritos College. The two teams met in March, with Loyola winning in four sets.
“They don't like to lose,” Snyder said of the team. “I think the bigger factor was the temptation to get to the finals. It was just him, so they were really hungry to get there again.”
In Division 2, Redondo advanced to the finals with a 25-21, 26-28, 25-19, 25-19 victory over Beckman. The Seahawks will face Santa Margarita in the final.