Mustangs club repeated aces

SANTA ANA ? The Costa Mesa High boys’ volleyball team possesses a great equalizer: the ace.

The ace can be counted on to provide the team with a spark. If Costa Mesa is ever not playing at its peak ? a rarity this season ? only one player must come through to produce an ace. Additionally, the ace does not require height, which the Mustangs lack, but rather skill and technique, which they have in abundance.

It was hardly dire straights, but the ace provided a lift for Costa Mesa in each game as the Mustangs swept the Saints, 25-12, 25-16, 25-14, in a Golden West League match Monday.

Ryan Bagwell and William Lefebvre combined for 15 aces. Bagwell led Costa Mesa with eight kills, while Mitch Caldwell and Lefebvre had seven and five, respectively.

Tony Krokorian had 14 assists and Andrew Melcer added eight.

The Mustangs improved to 14-0, 9-0 in league, three matches away from completing an undefeated season in league and one away from clinching the outright league title. The Mustangs have already swept second-place Estancia.

“It’s very important to us,” Costa Mesa Coach Chris Komer said of finishing unbeaten. “Our first goal was to win league.”

The second goal is to win a CIF Southern Section Division III title. Ranked No. 2, the Mustangs are poised to make a run.

It is the past, however, not the present that motivates Costa Mesa. Last season, Santa Monica, currently ranked No. 1 in Division III, came to Costa Mesa and swept the Mustangs out of the playoffs in the first round. Even though Komer was not around, he does not mind touching a nerve to get his team going.

“I must have used that 10 times this year,” Komer said.

Komer said he knew “from day one” that his team would be in the position it currently holds. The speed and athleticism were obvious, and then there was the serving.

Santa Ana witnessed a familiar sight for many a Costa Mesa foe, as Bagwell and Lefebvre pelted the opposition with aces.

Lefebvre with five, used his to turn the tide in the first game and Bagwell with 10 was a key in games two and three.

“William Lefebvre and Ryan Bagwell can both go on a streak and that’s what we need,” Komer said. “It makes it easier for us.”

Leading, 5-4, in the first game, Lefebvre stepped up to serve. Five of the next 11 points the Mustangs won were via aces. With Lefebvre serving, the Mustangs went on a 17-0 run.

When the Mustangs had the streak broken by an error, Bagwell started a 6-0 run with two kills and a block.

The next two games, it was also Bagwell who led the way. Santa Ana closed to within 16-15 in the second game when Bagwell prepared to start firing serves. What followed was a 10-1 run and three aces, whizzing past, over and through the defenseless Saints.

“I try to have a little side spin,” Bagwell said. “I’ve been developing my form since I was a freshman.”

The effectiveness of his serve increased in the second game as he switched speeds to keep the already off-balanced Saints even more off balance. A 1-1 tie was quickly obliterated as Bagwell produced four consecutive aces. Six of the points in a 7-0 run came via the ace.

Costa Mesa took an 8-1 lead and continued to build. Komer said part of the reason for the success of Bagwell’s serves is because he is left-handed.

“All these guys are used to right-handed hitters,” Komer said. “It’s almost like a slider in baseball the way it cuts in.”

Melcer, a setter, continued to work his way back from a bout with mononucleosis. Melcer, in his second match back after missing four, saw extended action in the third game and recorded a block, much to the delight of his teammates.