The Mira Costa boys volleyball team defeated Huntington Beach in five sets on May 16 to win the Southern Section Division 1 Championships. The match took place at Cerritos College at 7 p.m and ended with Costa winning 3-2, taking the final set 15-9.
“Our focus was to stay together at all times,” sophomore Mateo Fuerbringer said. “We knew that if we played our game the win would be ours.”
Costa opened the match with a strong 25-19 win in the first set, but Huntington Beach answered right back, taking the second with a score of 22-25. The Mustangs found their rhythm again in the third set, pulling ahead with another 25-19 victory. In a dramatic fourth set, Huntington battled back, with a 31-29 win to send the match into a decisive fifth. With the crowd behind them and momentum on their side, Costa kept their composure and powered through the final set, closing out the match with a score of 15-11.
“Whenever we get to play in front of a big crowd the game is way more fun and exciting,” Fuerbringer said. “I believe that our student section contributed a lot to our energy on the court.”
One week later, Costa hosted Huntigton again, this time for the CIF SoCal Regional Final on May 24. The match was the final home game for Costa’s seniors and marked the third time the two teams faced off this season.
“My last game at home will be one to remember because winning a regional state title is something you’ll never forget, especially playing in front of all your friends and family,” Senior Andrew Chapin said. “Obviously there was a lot on the line as it was a win or go home match, but to me I treated it like any other game, just happy to be playing and winning what was my last game ever at mira costa.”
Unlike the CIF final, the match went to three sets. Costa won the first set 26-24, took the second set 25-20, and closed out the match with a 25-14 win.
“Our hard work and dedication is what helped us all year,” Chapin said. “Yes, it was nice to play in our own gym, making everyone a little more comfortable in that environment, but it was our year of hard work and playing as a team that helped us win that game.”
The win over Huntington gave Costa the Regional Championship and punched their ticket to the CIF State Championship. The team faced Archbishop Mitty on Saturday, May 31, at Fresno City College.
“As far as state regionals went, our expectations remained the same, and that was to win,” Chapin said. “We felt confident that we were good enough to win, we just had to go out there and perform how we always did, and believe it was ours.”
Costa ended the season with wins over Loyola, Corona del Mar, Huntington Beach, and Marist— all top programs with impressive records from the past season.
“We had been dialed in at practice and made sure we stuck to what had been working all season,” junior Justin Warner said. “We weren’t trying anything new.”
This was Costa’s first appearance in the CIF State Championship since 2017. The matchup marked the first-ever State Championship between Northern and Southern SoCal teams. Archbishop Mitty, based in San Jose, was one of Northern California’s top programs and also came in with a strong postseason record.
“To win a state title meant a lot,” Warner said. “We had already won CIF, so finishing it off with a state title was the perfect way to end the season.”
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