By Katia Jenkins-Brown
and Audrey Williams
Staff Writers
Using tenacious serves, spikes and teamwork, Mira Costa girls volleyball wiped the floor with the Inglewood Sentinels.
The Mustangs defeated Inglewood High School on Oct. 8 at a home match in three games. The team won 25-6 in the first game, 25-5 in the second game and 25-6 in the third game.
“It was one of our easier games, and we just had to control the serve and communicate,” senior libero Emma Smith said.
Junior setter Sunny Villapando started off the first game with unreturnable serves, which brought Costa four points. After Villapando served the ball, Costa was able to hold the lead with kills from junior outside hitter Amanda Montag.
“Throughout the day, we mentally prepared ourselves for lots of balls over on one or two,” Villapando said.
The first game featured two kills from senior middle blocker Taylor Cottle as well as five kills from senior opposite Jazlyn Seidel.
“Tonight, we went out confident and had faith in each other’s decisions on the court,” Seidel said.
In the second set, Inglewood was unable to score more than two points in a row as Costa continued to dominate the scoreboard. However, the Sentinels continued to struggle returning Costa’s serves.
“Throughout all of the games, our whole team was having fun and just enjoying an easy game of volleyball,” junior middle blocker Alexia Inman said.
The Sentinels were unable to return the balls from the Mustangs’ offense in the second game. Many of Inglewood’s serves and passes went out or under the net, giving Costa multiple free points. A kill from Seidel led the Mustangs to a 25-5 win.
“We prepared for this game really well by practicing setting during our practices before the game,” Seidel said.
By the end of the game, Cottle was able to contribute to Costa’s win with five kills in the third set. Senior outside hitter Hannah Schreiner was also able to contribute three additional kills, leading to the Mustangs’ 25-6 win in the final game.
“We played our best, and there’s no limit to our potential now,” Cottle said.
The Mustangs placed fifth in the Torrey Pines California Challenge on Oct. 9 and 10 in San Diego against Carson High School, Rancho Cucamonga High School, La Costa Canyon High School, Notre Dame High School and San Clemente High School. The Mustangs overall record is 19-3 and they have a 3-0 record in Bay League. The Mustangs played Redondo yesterday, but scores were unavailable at the time of press.
“I was disappointed in our results, but I know we will bounce back,” Inman said.
Leave a Reply