Mira Costa Sweeps Its Way Into CIF Final

Mira Costa High had its ups and its downs Tuesday in a CIF semifinal volleyball match, but the Mustangs finished off the evening with a 3-0 sweep of Santa Margarita (25-14, 25-22, 25-17) to advance to the championship game.

The top-ranked Mustangs will play Los Angeles Loyola for the CIF Division I title Saturday at Cypress College. Mira Costa swept the Cubs in a match in March.

"We wanted the finals," said senior Kevin Donohue, who was injured last season during the semifinal round and was looking to make a statement by getting the Mustangs into the championship match. "We got a good seed, so that helped. But we have been executing and making it easier on ourselves."

The first set against Santa Margarita was quite simple for Costa. All the players  did was pass, set and kill, keeping it consistent and strong from start to finish. The Eagles looked a little uneasy throughout the entire first set with strings of errors, and the Mustangs came in to counter that with a calm confidence.

The second set was a much different ballgame.  Santa Margarita came out firing with some tough defense and a competitive edge that was nearly nonexistent in the first set.

Both teams continued to play great defense forcing more offensive errors on both sides. The Eagles kept it close, tying it at 18-18 and forcing coach Mike Ninnis to take his first time out of the night. Senior Jace Olsen emerged from the timeout with a big kill to take the momentum back for the Mustangs. At 21-20, Donohue came out of nowhere with an impressive kill and came back on the next point with an ace. Olsen and senior Eric Mochalski finished off the set with a kill apiece.

Mira Costa clearly had the momentum at the start of the third set, and ran out to a 4-1 lead. The Mustangs kept a significant lead throughout the final set. Although Santa Margarita continued to make incredible defensive plays in the backcourt, its offense was not able to match it to rack up strings of points.

Michael Beals was impressive again with his setting choices. With 17 assists on the night, he used a variety of hitters and was able to find the openings in the block and on the court to give his hitters the best shot at getting the kill.

At 24-17, the Mustang crowd began chanting, "sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep." The cheering, along with a Mochalski kill, ended the match.

"It was a typical Mira Costa match," Ninnis said. "Beals spread it out, we had a lot of guys with kills. But Donohue really stepped up and got it done for us just like he did in the last match."

Donohue, one of the lone Mira Costa seniors without a college commitment, was the standout of the evening. He finished with 13 kills, 4 digs and 3 blocks. His offense was untouchable in the front row and backcourt, and he brought serious heat with his serves.

Donohue said that for the rest of the week, "Coach is emphasizing the transition plays, making plays on free balls and executing."

Ninnis said the team is ready for the finals.