By Sam Rich
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa girls beach volleyball team, led by seniors Skylar Caputo and Katrina Kernochan, ended its season by beating Saddleback Valley High School on May 16, earning its third consecutive Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League championship title.
In the finals against the Saddleback Valley Warriors, the Mustangs won, 2-1. Sophomore Presley Forbes and freshman Piper Monk won 21-13, 21-9 and 15-9, but senior Claudia Lemieux and junior Emma Smith lost 21-16 and 21-14. Finally, Caputo and Kernochan won their match, 21-13, 20-22 and 21-9, securing the IBVL championship title.
“I was one of the founding players of the program, and being able to finish off my senior year winning another championship is such an amazing accomplishment,” Kernochan said. “Especially because I was able to share this amazing experience with a lot of my friends.”
The Mustangs’ road to the championship began with a first-round win against Santa Margarita High School on May 7 at Dockweiler Beach in El Segundo. Seniors Lindsay Chalmers and Keala Rusher dominated, winning 21-17 and 21-13, while Kernochan and Caputo won 21-15 and 22-20 in two games.
“It was a total team effort,” Smith said. “We worked really hard this season, and it all paid off.”
The Mustangs then beat the Huntington Beach Oilers, 2-1, in the semifinals on May 15 at the Annenberg Beach Club in Santa Monica. Lemieux and Smith lost 21-23 and 18-21 in a close match. However, Kernochan and Caputo won 21-18 and 21-16, and Forbes and Monk also won their games, 21-15 and 21-18.
“Going into the finals of the IBVL High School Team Championship, some of us knew it would be our last game playing as a Mustang,” Caputo said. “For others, it was their very first experience to compete for the title”
The Mustangs won Bay League with a record of 10-0, allowing them to move on to the IBVL where they won all three playoff matches.
“Being undefeated as a team since 2012 has been such a great accomplishment for the Mira Costa girls beach volleyball team,” Caputo said.
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