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Schools

Lady Mustangs Lose Spirited Match

The Mira Costa girls volleyball team loses three close games to rival Loyola in non-league contests. Coach hopes tough pre-season matches against top competition will result in solid play by team in Bay League.

Even with senior Maddy Klineman's 11 kills and two blocks and junior Corie Bain's four kills, five blocks and 16 assists, the Mira Costa girls volleyball team couldn't quite put away Marymount at home on Thursday. 

The Mustangs were ahead in all three games but the scrappy Sailors came storming back to win 26-24, 25-23 and 25-21 before a raucous packed house.

“I thought we had enough energy from all the fans but not closing out that first game really hurt us and took the excitement out of the crowd,” said Mira Costa coach Lisa Zimmerman. “We’re about nine games into the season and we keep giving up big leads. But the season is so early that I’m not that concerned because I feel like we improve with every match.”

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Marymount's senior outside-hitter Lanti Moye-Mclaren had a game-high 16 kills and three aces to lead Marymount. 

Trailing 14-7 in the third game, the Sailors managed to score ten straight points to steal the final game and the match from the stunned Mustangs.

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“They have been doing this to me all season,” Marymount coach Cari Klien said of his team’s knack for comebacks this season. “In Vegas [Durango Tournament], we were down 23-13 and 15-4 and came back to win. I think these girls don’t get started until they get behind. Their goal is to give me a full head of grey hair.”

The Mustangs (4-6) were ahead 17-12 in the first game before Moye-Mclaren recorded three kills and a block as the Sailors went on a seven-point run to gain control of the game. Mira Costa tied the score at 24-24 before Marymount scored the next two points off a block from Victoria Jasuta and an ace from Carly Wagenbach.

Jasuta finished the match with seven kills and three blocks and Wagenbach had a game-high five aces for the Sailors (9-1).

In the second game, the Sailors jumped out to an 8-1 lead before the Mustangs came storming back to score the next nine points behind the play of Klineman to take a two-point advantage. Both teams traded punches and neither team was able to pull away, accounting for eight ties and nine lead changes in the second game before the Sailors eventually won 25-23.

“We have a tough time of holding on to our leads,” Mustang junior middle blocker Kelsey McIntire said. “For some reason we get up on teams and aren’t able to close the game out. We have had this problem all season.”

“They’re definitely a very tough opponent,” Moye-Mclaren said of the Mustangs. “This is a big rivalry game for us and a match that we anticipate every season.”

Lauren Greskovics-Fuller had six kills and an ace for the Sailors while her sister Manon had seven kills that all came in the third game.

“They played well for us,” Klien said of the sisters. “Lauren did a great job in the first game and Manon was the big key in the third game. She came in and provided a big spark for us and was an instrumental part of the win.”

The Mustangs begin Bay League play on Tuesday with another tough match against rival Palos Verdes at home at 5:15 p.m.

“I think our schedule is going to really help us next week when we start league play,” Zimmerman said of her team’s daunting non-league schedule. “We have played the toughest teams in the CIF and in the nation and that is only going to help us down the road. Hopefully, we won’t get rattled in tough situations because we have been in so many already.”

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