Boys Volleyball Advances to Semi-Finals

The third-seeded Mira Costa boys volleyball team will have the home court advantage Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they play second-seeded Esperanza, a team that beat them in mid-April with a 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 win in the finals of the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara. That loss was the last time the Mustangs have gone down to the competition, winning 14 matches in a row.

Saturday night at home, the team was victorious against the Dana Hills Dolphins, 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 25-1, in a CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinal match, advancing to the semi-final match against Esperanza.

“This (playing Esperanza Tuesday night) will be a grudge match for us,” MCHS senior Kevin Inlow told the Easy Reader. “We know what they’re about. They’ve got a bunch of great players and we’ll need to focus, have a great practice on Monday and come out and play well. We could use some work on our defense, me included. Brooks Varni, as always, was amazing, but we need to tighten up our defense. If we can pull that off, we’ve got a great chance of winning.”

Senior Christopher Orenic, who did not play in the previous match against Esperanza due to a wrist injury, told the Easy Reader, “We definitely look forward to playing Esperanza again. It’s going to be a fun match between two really good teams.”

Against Dana Hills, Inlow had 15 kills and 10 digs, Orenic had a game-high 19 kills, Scott Stephanoff had 17 kills, Keith Waddell recorded eight kills, 11 digs and three blocks, Brooks Varni scooped 27 digs and Jackson Carr amassed 62 assists for Mira Costa.

If the Mustangs beat Esperanza, they will face the winner of the other Division 1 semi-final of top-seeded Loyola and fourth-seeded Servite (31-3-1). 

The championship match will be held Saturday, May 19 at Cypress College.

In the Powerade Fab 50 high school boys volleyball national rankings after May 8 games, Mira Costa is listed at No. 3, one spot ahead of Esperanza. Loyola is ranked No. 1 and Servite at No. 5, respectively.

Vistamar vs. Chadwick

Two private South Bay schools will go against one another in a Division 5 semi-final match. Third-seeded Vistamar, based in El Segundo, will host second-seeded Chadwick, located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on Tuesday, May 15.