Girls’ Volleyball: Mira Costa wins another title
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Chalk up another one for Mira Costa.
Outside hitters Lane Carico and Stevi Robinson each had nine kills and tournament most valuable player Falyn Fonoimoana added eight kills as the Mustangs defeated San Jose Mitty, 25-20, 25-14, 25-18, in the championship match of the24-team Torrey Pines California Challenge on Saturday night at Torrey Pines.
The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps.com and No. 1 nationally in PrepVolleyball.com’s Century Top 100, affirmed that status by claiming their second title in two weeks. They also won the 32-team Durango Fall Classic on Oct. 6.
‘Overall in finals, I think we just do very well under pressure,’ said Fonoimoana, a 6-3 sophomore right-side hitter who started last season but has taken an even more active role in the Mustangs’ offense this year. ‘Everyone played well. I feel like everyone was our MVP. I was surprised when I got it.’
Mira Costa first-year Coach Lisa Zimmerman wasn’t.
‘She was pretty dominant,’ Zimmerman said. ‘She’s intimidating and she just gets a lot of great kills.’
Besides finishing in fine form against Mitty, the defending tournament champion and the team the Mustangs beat for the state Division II championship last December, Fonoimoana’s efforts helped Mira Costa defeat defending Division IV state champion Los Angeles Marymount in the quarterfinals and were key to beating 2006 Division I southern regional finalist La Costa Canyon in the semifinals earlier in the marathon day.
‘Today was a journey in itself,’ said Fonoimoana, the niece of AVP Tour pro Eric Fonoimoana. ‘We’re setting the bar high, and I think, right now, the expectations have to be higher. We’re establishing our building blocks for where we want to be in November and December. Right now, this is our next accomplishment.’
With the tournament titles won, Mira Costa now turns its attention to a Bay League match Tuesday against Redondo, which beat the Mustangs in five games in last year’s Southern Section Division I-AA championship match. It was the only loss for Mira Costa in 2006. Check out the story on PrepVolleyball.com.
With each victory this year, the Mustangs (20-0) are proving they are a good bet to go to the state finals again.
‘These were tough teams we beat, perennial teams,’ Zimmerman said. ‘We played well. I think we’re just such a ball-control team, and we have so many offensive weapons. With this team, it’s kind of hard to pick out one person.’
Robinson, who has committed to play at Pepperdine next season, and setter Kendall Bateman, who is headed to USC, also were named to the all-tournament team for the Mustangs.
Players from other Southland teams who earned all-tournament honors were Marymount’s Sam Selsky and Vista Murrieta’s Serina Russo. Vista Murrieta is ranked third in the state and No. 15 nationally.
- Lauren Peterson