MANHATTAN BEACH — When you have two of the best boys volleyball teams in the CIF-Southern Section with two of the best players squaring off, Wednesday’s Newport Harbor and Mira Costa match expected to be a battle.
That is exactly what happened as the Mustangs and Sailors alternated winning the first four sets, setting the winner-take-all fifth set.
Riggs Guy (UC Santa Barbara) stepped up with nine of his match-high 27 kills to help Newport Harbor take control early in the fifth set on the way to a 15-8 win, sealing the match.
The complete scores were 18-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18 and 15-8.
Mira Costa’s Victor Loiola had 25 kills and three aces.
“We played very inconsistent tonight,” Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said. “We would get up a set and then take our foot off the gas and you can’t do that against a team as good as Newport Harbor.
“Victor (Loiola) played a great match tonight for us, but we have come to expect that from him. Riggs Guy for them is very talented as well and he showed that especially in the fifth set. Both of them are two of the best players in Southern California. We need to realize that we have capable players at all the hitting positions and not rely so heavily on just one guy. It made our offense too predictable and that cost us tonight.”
Mira Costa came out firing in the first set with Loiola leading the way with seven kills for the first set victory. In the second set, it was Guy’s turn, as he recorded seven kills and the Sailors evened the match.
The back-and-forth continued in the third set, although it didn’t start well for the Mustangs. Mira Costa trailed early (5-1), but responded scoring 17 of the next 20 points to take a commanding 18-8 advantage, led by Loiola’s six kills. Junior Aken Gealon came up with three kills late in the set and a block to help the Mustangs close win 25-16 for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The teams were tied at 11 in the fourth set, but Guy took over recording six kills in an 11-4 Newport Harbor run to eventually even the match at 2-2. Loiola had seven kills in the set.
Guy recorded five kills early in the final set, helping Newport Harbor take a 7-1 lead. Mira Costa rallied to get to 9-5, but Sailors would not be denied.
“I thought we played good here and there, but we didn’t play like ourselves the whole match, which is something we need to work on,” Loiola said. “Newport just had better passing and defense throughout and that is something we need to work on. You can’t win them all, but we definitely will be back and we are coming for revenge.”
Both teams will be action this weekend at the Best of the West Tournament in San Diego.