Bagwell aces, Mesa sweeps

COSTA MESA ? The Costa Mesa High boys’ volleyball team has high expectations this season, and as Wednesday’s match against Ocean View showed, the team isn’t going to let a few obstacles slow it down.

Before the match, the Mustangs, already playing without senior outside hitter Will Lefebvre (broken foot), found out that starting setter Andrew Melcer was out with mononucleosis. But with Tony Krikorian doing a stellar job filling in at setter and senior Ryan Bagwell putting on a serving display seldom seen in the Golden West League, the Mustangs rambled to a 25-17, 25-11, 25-16 victory over the Seahawks.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division III, moved to 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the Golden West League. The team’s only losses came in best-of-three matches in the San Diego Tournament of Champions.

Bagwell, probably the team’s fiercest outside hitter, is no stranger to a well-placed jump serve with lots of motion on it. The left-handed Bagwell tallied seven consecutive service aces in the second game of the match, turning a close game into a blowout. Bagwell found the corners and had a nice tail on most of his high-velocity serves.

“Bagwell is one of the best jump-servers I’ve ever seen on this level,” Ocean View Coach Jimmy Harris said. “And he took advantage of that.”

Bagwell finished with 10 service aces, only his second-best serving performance this season. He had 12 against Los Alamitos in a nonleague match.

“He’s a pretty dominant server,” Costa Mesa Coach Chris Komer said. “He controlled the whole second game today.”

Game one was the most competitive, with Ocean View (10-7, 2-2 in league) pulling to within 16-15 before a kill by senior middle blocker Mitchell Caldwell sent the Mustangs on a 9-2 run to close out the game. The last two points came on misplays by the Seahawks, who have good size but are a bit raw.

“We have athletes,” Harris said. “But we’re a little low on skill level compared to Costa Mesa.”

In the third game, a pair of kills by Caldwell and Trevor Smith helped cushion Costa Mesa’s lead. Fittingly, Bagwell closed the match with his 10th ace.

The left-hander also led the Mustangs with eight kills. Smith added seven kills for Costa Mesa.

The Mustangs, who host Villa Park in a nonleague match on Friday before playing at Orange on April 5, hope to have Lefebvre back in time for their April 7 showdown against cross-town rival Estancia, ranked No. 2 in Division III.

The Mustangs beat the Eagles in four games in the first match between the teams on March 15, and will most likely need to defeat them again if they want to win the Golden West League title outright.

“We’ve been looking forward to that match a little bit, but we’re trying to take the games one by one because we have two guys out,” Bagwell said.

Nobody on this year’s Mustang squad, including Bagwell ? a Daily Pilot Dream Team pick last year ? has won a league championship. But Costa Mesa, with seven senior starters, feels this is its year.

“We want to put up a championship banner for our school,” Bagwell said. “It’s been our goal ever since we started playing. It’s been working out pretty well so far.”

Harris, whose Seahawks have lost to both Costa Mesa and Estancia, said he believes the Mustangs are the favorite to win the league title.

“Both teams have tough-minded kids that have played together for a long time,” Harris said. “But skill-wise, I think Costa Mesa is better.”dpt-volley30.IMGGraphicInfoBD1PF2G420060330BD1PF2G4No Captiondpt.30-cmvoll-2-CPhotoInfoCS1PF11720060330iwx9snknDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Costa Mesa’s Bennet Lefebvre (6), and Ryan French (10) put the clamps on an Ocean View hitter during Wednesday afternoon’s match. The Mustangs swept, 25-17, 25-11, 25-16, in a Golden West League match at Costa Mesa.