Peterson steps up at Mesa

Casey Peterson, who played varsity girls’ volleyball for Costa Mesa High from 1998 through 2000, has been named the school’s boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach.

She replaces Chris Komer, who coached both teams in 2005-06. Last year’s girls’ team went 15-7 and lost in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs.

The boys’ team went 23-6, won the Golden West League and advanced to the CIF Division III championship match.

Komer, a walk-on at Costa Mesa, resigned to become boys’ and girls’ coach at Santa Fe High, where he also accepted a teaching position.

Peterson, a 23-year-old walk-on, is the Mustangs’ fifth girls’ coach in six years. She coached the girls’ junior varsity and assisted Komer with the varsity girls last season.

“I’m excited, especially since I was involved last year,” Peterson said.

Peterson was a Newport-Mesa Dream Team selection and first-team All-Pacific Coast League middle blocker in 2000.

She played two years at Orange Coast College, helping lead the Pirates to the state championship match in 2001.

Peterson played at San Francisco State for a year before the volleyball program disbanded.

Her assistant coach for the Costa Mesa girls will be Brooke Leverette, the Mustangs’ frosh-soph coach last year and a teammate of Peterson’s at San Francisco State.

Former OCC player Nick Ptaschinski will be Peterson’s assistant with the boys’ team. Ptaschinski also played at William Woods University in Missouri. He played professionally the past two years in Holland.

“I’m still making the transition from being done with college to going on to the next level, so it’s just perfect timing,” Peterson said.