Mira Costa versus Loyola. Arguably, there is no better high school boys volleyball rivalry in the nation and the perennial powerhouses will write another chapter to the legacy of their programs when the teams meet for the third time this season to determine the CIF Southern Section-Ford Division 1 Championship in a match to be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cypress College.
Bragging rights for the victor are nearly as important as the title itself. The majority of players on both sides know each other having been teammates on club volleyball teams.
“We have so many friends playing for Loyola that I’d rather beat Loyola and not win CIF – but now we can do both. I’m really looking forward to it,” said Mira Costa’s Keith Waddell, who had nine kills, eight digs and two blocks in Mira Costa’s 18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20 semifinal win over visiting Esperanza Tuesday evening.
With the exception of the starting setters, Saturday’s meeting between the schools will pit members of the Southern California Volleyball Club (SCVC) (Mira Costa team with Loyola setter Michael Mullahey) and Manhattan Beach Surf (Loyola team with Mira Costa setter Jackson Carr) club teams who played each other in the USAV Junior National Championship match last summer in Minneapolis.
Loyola (31-1) is the top seed in the Division 1 playoffs and is also ranked No. 1 in the Powerade Fab 50 high school boys volleyball national rankings. The Cubs have yet to lose a game in the post season defeating fourth-seeded Servite 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 in their semifinal match Tuesday.
Third-seeded Mira Costa (31-4) held the third spot in the nation before eliminating Esperanza who was the second-seeded team in Division 1 and ranked fourth in the nation.
For the second straight match, Mira Costa will be aiming to avenge an earlier loss to a higher-seeded opponent. In mid-April, Esperanza had swept the Mustangs in the final of the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.
“When we lost to Esperanza before, we knew we were a better team than them and we wanted to come out and show who we really were,” Mira Costa outside hitter Kevin Inlow said. “Playing Loyola is going to fun. We know most of the guys on their team and it’s the biggest match of the year for us. We want to come out and play as hard as we can and hopefully get a win.”
Loyola defeated Mira Costa twice in March, knocking off the Mustangs 25-12, 25-19 in the Best of the West tournament and 25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 in a non-league match held at Loyola Marymount University.
“We know that we played Loyola tough the last time,” Mira Costa coach Mike Ninnis said. “We had a chat afterward in the locker room and said how we wanted to face them again and now we have that opportunity.”
With a healthy lineup and the return of Christopher Orenic, who missed the majority of the season with a wrist injury and did not play in the earlier regular-season contests against Esperanza and Loyola, Ninnis feels his team is up for any challenge.
“I think our team is a much better team than it was a month ago,” Ninnis said.
Mira Costa began its match against Esperanza in the same fashion as its 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14 win over Dana Hills in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Mistakes put the Mustangs in a hole after dropping the first games in each match, but the players refused to panic.
“We got off to a slow start in game one (against Esperanza) but played through it and had them on their heels,” Waddell said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get the ‘W’. Having Orenic back gives us unbelievable fire power.”
Orenic led Mira Costa with 12 kills, Kevin Inlow recorded 11 kills and 10 digs, Karl Acres added 10 kills, Scott Stephanoff had eight kills, Jackson Carr contributed 53 assists and Brooks Varni continued to shine on defense posting 16 digs.
“We came out and made a lot of errors but fought through it and settled down in the second game, said Varni, who will join Orenic at USC in the fall. “Playing Loyola, we have a little chip on our shoulder. We have a lot of confidence right now and know we can beat them.”
Carr believes playing in front of a huge crowd at home has prepared his team for the CIF title match.
“This is another revenge match,” Carr said. “The big one.”
In the Division 3 playoffs, second-seeded South Torrance (25-4) eliminated Crescenta Valley 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21 then third-seeded Burroughs/Burbank 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21 to reach the championship match where the Spartans will face top-seeded Warren (30-3).
El Segundo (18-6) saw its season come to an end with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-16 loss to Warren in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
A pair of South Bay teams squared off in a Division 5 semifinal contest with second-seeded Chadwick (21-2) eliminating third-seeded Vistamar (18-6)) 25-19, 25-22, 25-12 to reach the title match. Chadwick will play fourth-seeded Viewpoint (20-7) who upset top-seeded Salesian 18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11 on Tuesday.
