Mira Costa beats Assumption again

[GatorVball]

25-23, 25-19 in the finals of the Nike Challenge. Too much Klineman and Bledsoe in this one. They might just be the best high school team of all time. Weapons everywhere, they are so impressive.

[GatorVball]

Mira Costa Volleyball Wins Elite Chicago Tournament
From Times Staff Reports
October 1, 2006

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa continues to prove its mettle against the best girls' volleyball teams in the country, claiming the Mother McAuley/Nike Challenge in Chicago on Saturday with a 25-23, 25-19 victory over defending champion Louisville (Ky.) Assumption in the final.

The top-seeded Mustangs (16-0), ranked No. 1 nationally by PrepVolleyball.com, won two pool-play matches and three Gold Division playoff matches en route to the championship of the two-day, 24-team tournament, which included eight top-10 teams.

The victory over Assumption (27-2) was the Mustangs' second this season and avenged two losses to the Rockets last year. Mira Costa also defeated Assumption for the championship of the Las Vegas Durango tournament two weeks ago.

Mira Costa's victories over Assumption are a reversal of last season, when the Rockets defeated the Mustangs in finals of the Chicago and Las Vegas events, where Mira Costa suffered its only two losses of 2005 before winning Southern Section Division II-AA and state Division II championships.

Senior outside hitter Alix Klineman and senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe fueled the Mustangs' offense Saturday, and Lauren Law and Alexa Altamura were the serving and defensive standouts.

Klineman was named to the six-player all-tournament team, along with Assumption's Kaitlynn James.

"The tougher the team, the better the match," Klineman said. "That's the way we like it, as long as we can rise to the occasion, and so far we've been able to do it.

"We played really well, but they played well, too, and fortunately, we were able to respond."

Bledsoe scored the first point of the match for Mira Costa, but Assumption jumped to a 6-1 lead in the first game. The Mustangs cut the deficit to two points, at 7-5 and 8-6, and continued to chip away until they caught the Rockets at 17-17.

A block by Bledsoe put Mira Costa ahead, 18-17, but Assumption tied the game at 20-20 before kills by Bledsoe and Klineman gave the Mustangs a 22-20 edge. Klineman scored her team's last three points to clinch the game.

Bledsoe notched the Mustangs' first three points of the second game on a kill and two blocks, and they took a 4-1 lead on an Assumption error. The Rockets pulled to within 8-5, but Mira Costa maintained at least a four-point lead the rest of the way.

Klineman finished the match with 13 kills. Bledsoe had 10, including six in the first game.

Klineman scored five of Mira Costa's last seven points in the second game, staking the Mustangs to their biggest lead at 23-16 after putting down consecutive kills. She closed out the match with two more smashes after Assumption had closed the gap.

"It was pretty intense volleyball," said Bledsoe, who has committed to Florida. "We did exactly what we wanted to do. We all know what we have to do to win, and that's what we did."

For the second time this season, Mira Costa also defeated Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, 25-14, 25-11, in the semifinals. The Mustangs beat Louisville (Ky.) Sacred Heart, 25-19, 25-17, in the first round of elimination play.

Assumption advanced to the championship match by beating Wheaton (Ill.) St. Francis, 25-19, 25-18, in the semifinals.

La Costa Canyon defeated St. Francis in the third-place match, 25-20, 25-22, behind the play of all-tournament selection Jace Williams.

[vbsamurai]

another reason why
california vb players
are
the best
vb players
in the
country

[cdizzle]

Poetry