MANHATTAN BEACH Wednesday's game between Newport Harbor and MiraCosta is expected to be a battle when two of the best men's volleyball teams and two of the best players in the CIF-Southern Section face off.
That's exactly what happened as the Mustangs and Sailors took turns winning the first four sets, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set.
Riggs Guy (UCSB) had a match-high 9 of 27 kills and Newport Harbor took control early in the fifth set, winning 15-8 and clinching the match.
The full score was 18-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-8.
Mira Costa's Victor Loiola had 25 kills and three aces.
“We played very inconsistently tonight,” MiraCosta coach Greg Snyder said. “We're going to get set and then take the gas off the gas, but you can't do that against a team as good as Newport Harbor.
“Victor (Loiola) played a great game for us tonight and we have come to expect that from him. Their Riggs guy is also very talented, especially in the fifth set. They showed it. They're both two of the best players in Southern California. We have to realize that we have talented players at every hitting position and we're not too reliant on one player. . It made our offense too predictable, and it cost us tonight.”
Mira Costa continued to perform well in the first set, with Loiola leading the way with seven kills and winning the first set. Guy had seven kills in the second set to help the Sailors tie the game.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the third set, but it wasn't a good start for the Mustangs. Mira Costa fell behind early (5-1), but fought back with 17 of the next 20 points, taking an overwhelming advantage to 18-8, led by Loiola's six kills. Junior Aiken Geeron had three kills and one block late in the set, giving the Mustangs a close 25-16 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The teams were tied at 11 points in the fourth set, but Guy had six kills in an 11-4 win over Newport Harbor to eventually tie the score at 2-2. Loiola had seven kills in the set.
Guy had five kills early in the final set to help Newport Harbor take a 7-1 lead. Mira Costa rallied to make it 9-5, but the Sailors were not denied.
“I think we played well here and there, but we just didn't play like ourselves throughout the game. That's an issue,” Loiola said. “Newport has gotten better at passing and defending overall, so that's something we need to work on. We can't win everything, but we'll definitely be back and we'll come for revenge.”
Both teams will compete in the Best of the West tournament this weekend in San Diego.
