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Sports

Costa Duo Looks to Add NCAA Title to CIF Crown

Kendall Bateman and Falyn Fonoimoana helped lead the Mustangs to a CIF championship in 2007. Now teammates at USC, they have the Trojans at the Final Four in Kansas City with a chance to share another title.

The smell of barbecue is enough to make mouths water for most Kansas City visitors. But it's something entirely different that makes former Mira Costa High volleyball greats Falyn Fonoimoana (2010) and Kendall Bateman (2008) hungry -- the chance to bring back some hardware from the NCAA Final Four.

The former Mustangs are looking to recreate the championship recipe they had in Manhattan Beach in 2007, when the duo led Mira Costa to the CIF-Southern Section 1-AA championship with a victory over Bay League rival Redondo Union.

The sixth-ranked Trojans (29-4) will face Cal on Thursday, Dec.16 in a national semifinal and are joined in Kansas City by Texas and Penn State. The Nittany Lions come in as the prohibitive favorite, having won the past three national championships.

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"This season has just been a blessing,'' said Fonoimoana, an outside hitter who was selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association Pacific Region freshman of the year. ''When I first picked USC it was about going to a place where I would be pushed to be my best on the court and in the classroom. It's been a great experience so far.''

Fonoimoana led the Trojans with 25 kills this past weekend in a five-set victory over Stanford that put them into the Final Four, their first win in three matches this season against the Cardinal and in seven matches dating back to 2007.

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"That match was a dog-fight,'' said Fonoimoana, who along with her teammates had to deal with the crush of final exams this week. ''We came in with a common goal as underdogs and we finally were able to come in with the right mindset and leave victorious.''

In the seven matches since last beating the Cardinal, USC had pushed Stanford to five sets only once and had been swept twice.

''A lot of people didn't think we could get this far,'' Bateman said, after the Trojans took out Stanford. ''We're lucky to have a team that thought we could get this far. From our freshmen to our seniors, everyone on our team thought we could get to the Final Four this year and I think that has helped us get here and that has motivated us throughout the entire season. We're just lucky to have such a motivated group of girls.''

The connection of Bateman to Fonoimoana, setter to outside hitter, goes back all the way to the club level when Bateman was 13 years old and Fonoimoana was 11. 

"We became really close in high school, and she is one of my closest friends,'' Fonoimoana said. ''It's so important to have a connection with your setter on the court, but we also have one mentally as well.''

Bateman, who on Wednesday was selected as a second-team AVCA All-American, led the Pac-10 in assists and is third in the nation with 12.4 assists per game, has been instrumental in leading the Trojans' offensive attack.

"Not only does she make us look good, but she is a strong leader. She calms us down when we need to and gets us pumped up when that's called for," Fonoimoana said.

Fonoimoana, who had her pick of schools, was excited about the level of competition in her backyard at USC. 

"It was close to home which is great, but I knew a lot of the girls and I wanted to play with great players surrounding me," Fonoimoana said. "I had not played with players of this caliber since my first two years at Mira Costa. I was playing with Kendall and Alix Klineman [Stanford] and they pushed me, and I've been pushed to be my best at USC."

Fonoimoana has been very impressed with the strides the team has made since late in the summer.

"Double-days were the most impressive in that you see the raw talent of your teammates,'' she said. ''It's been neat to see how much we have transformed and eliminated bad habits. We're stronger, better and more consistent.''

Fonoimoana likens the attitude at USC to that of Mira Costa.

"There is the same tradition of excellence here. Coach Mick [Haley] and [former Mira Costa coach] Dae Lea Aldrich are similar in that they have an old school approach and set the bar so high that we fought every day to meet the challenge and exceed it," Fonoimoana said.

This USC team is not just happy to be headed to Kansas City, but are looking to bring a fourth championship trophy back to Heritage Hall.

"My expectation is always to win,'' Fonoimoana said. ''Our team has enough heart, determination and athleticism to win. I really feel like we have that edge.''

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