Mira Costa freshman Mateo Furbringer led the Mustangs with 13 kills in Saturday's CIF Southern California Division I regional final against Loyola (Photo by David Rice)
LOS ANGELES — Heading into Saturday's CIF Southern California Regional Division I finals, the MiraCosta men's volleyball team knew it would have a tough time defeating top-seeded Loyola.
The task was made even more difficult for the Mustangs with the absence of senior Victor Loiola (lower back injury) and junior Cooper Keene (U.S. Under-19 team member).
Mira Costa fought valiantly but could not overcome Sean Kelly (27 kills) as Loyola won 25-16, 29-27, 25-19.
The teams have met twice previously, with Loyola winning in three sets on May 11 at the CIF-SS Division 1 Championship.
Mira Costa, who dropped the first set on Saturday, trailed 17-12 in the second set, but recovered with an ace from Andrew Chapin to tie the set at 23-23.
In the next sequence, the Mustangs bounced back from four set points and freshman Mateo Fuerbringer had three kills to tie the score at 27-27 on the final play. However, the Cubs prevailed with a big kill from Kelly, and the Mustangs' shot went off target, giving Loyola a 2-0 lead.
“Even though we were down by two guys tonight, we played tough against them,” said Fuerbringer, who had 13 kills and three blocks. “The second set was really fun to play, but we just couldn't get through.
“It was tough to lose tonight because we worked hard all season, but we will come back even stronger next year.”
In the third set, Mira Costa continued its strong play from the second set, jumping out to a 12-9 advantage thanks to four kills from Fuerbringer and three kills from junior Alex Heins. Loyola responded with an 11-2 run from Kelly and Simon Capps to take a 21-14 advantage, helped by four mistakes by Mira Costa.
Kelly had two more kills to push her to match point, and Capps finished it off with an ace.
Despite the loss, Mira Costa head coach Greg Snyder was pleased with his team's effort.
“We definitely had the cards stacked against us, but we still felt like we could win, but it's not going to be easy,” Snyder said. “There were times when we put pressure on them, but it wasn't enough. I feel like every time we play against Loyola, we commit things that are detrimental to our success, especially unforced errors.
“Overall, I'm very proud of the way we played against them. We saw young players like Mateo and Enzo Barker (both freshmen) step up tonight. I'm happy. We'll be stronger next season.”
Barker finished the match with four kills, and Hines had seven kills and four blocks for Mira Costa.
