Post by 808empath on May 27, 2005 16:41:21 GMT -5
www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/1576866.html
Friday, May 27, 2005
Mira Costa won't let a dream slip away
Top seed Mustangs rally from a 2-1 deficit to beat Edison and reach CIF boys volleyball final.
By Bob Holtzman
Daily Breeze
It didn't seem like the right time or setting. At least, not to the Mira Costa boys volleyball team and its 14 seniors. So instead of watching its CIF Division I championship dreams swirl down the drain in Orange County, the Mustangs bucked a determined Edison squad to advance to the ninth CIF final in school history.
Mira Costa rallied for a 23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 15-11 semifinal victory over No. 5 seed Edison on Wednesday night at Huntington Beach High. The Mustangs (33-1) play Loyola on Saturday in the Division I championship at a time to be determined at Cypress College. The No. 2 seed Cubs (28-5) beat Los Alamitos, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-14, 19-17, on Wednesday night.
Middle blocker Matt Rawson had 17 kills, nine blocks and served nine points for the Mustangs, who blew leads in both the first and third games that left them reaching deep inside their collective souls to overcome Edison (24-7).
"We've been working so hard, we realized we weren't going to let them take our glory away," Rawson said. "No way were we going to lose to a team we've already beaten."
Edison and Mira Costa played in March at the Francis Parker Tournament and went three games in the best-of-3 pool-play series. That match gave Edison coach Brian Boone confidence his team could challenge the top-seeded Mustangs and maybe even catch them off guard.
Edison did just that in the third game, scoring the last five points of the game to rally from a 24-21 deficit. Tyler Strickland served an ace on game point to finish the rally and put Edison in position to win the match.
Instead, Mira Costa came alive at the net, making it difficult for the Edison hitters. Mira Costa blocked five shots for points in the fourth game, as many as they tallied in the first three games combined.
"We gave them all they could handle but the big difference," Boone said, "was that we had a tough time slowing down Quint Carroll and Rawson in the middle."
Carroll not only had 10 kills and four blocks, but also served 12 points for the Mustangs, including an ace. Outside hitter Chris Icaza made up for an inconsistent defensive performance with one of his best offensive matches of the season. The 6-foot senior had 16 kills and four digs and said he wouldn't let his team fail.
"I told Max Klineman, the setter, 'Set me as much as you can.' I've played in big matches before and I wanted the ball as much as I could get it," Icaza said. "I knew no matter what, no matter if we were out of sync, we would come out of it."
Klineman had 36 assists and two kills while Matt Wade had 27 assists, nine kills and two blocks.
The UCLA-bound senior said he never wondered if his high school career would end on Wednesday night.
"I was not concerned at all," Wade said. "I had faith we would come through like we have all year. We hadn't gone five games yet, though."
Coach Mike Cook called it a poor defensive effort, but credited back row specialist Eric Leserman with making all six of his digs late in the match. Jason Palacios led the way with eight digs to go with his 12 kills and three blocks.
Edison junior Tommy Pestolesi had 26 kills to lead the Chargers. Tim Golden added 11 kills while Strickland and JP Smith had 10 kills each.
"We wore them down." Cook said. "We were like the old John McKay-coached USC football teams. All that talent beat teams in the fourth quarter. We won this game with our physicality, not our fundamentals."
Friday, May 27, 2005
Mira Costa won't let a dream slip away
Top seed Mustangs rally from a 2-1 deficit to beat Edison and reach CIF boys volleyball final.
By Bob Holtzman
Daily Breeze
It didn't seem like the right time or setting. At least, not to the Mira Costa boys volleyball team and its 14 seniors. So instead of watching its CIF Division I championship dreams swirl down the drain in Orange County, the Mustangs bucked a determined Edison squad to advance to the ninth CIF final in school history.
Mira Costa rallied for a 23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 15-11 semifinal victory over No. 5 seed Edison on Wednesday night at Huntington Beach High. The Mustangs (33-1) play Loyola on Saturday in the Division I championship at a time to be determined at Cypress College. The No. 2 seed Cubs (28-5) beat Los Alamitos, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-14, 19-17, on Wednesday night.
Middle blocker Matt Rawson had 17 kills, nine blocks and served nine points for the Mustangs, who blew leads in both the first and third games that left them reaching deep inside their collective souls to overcome Edison (24-7).
"We've been working so hard, we realized we weren't going to let them take our glory away," Rawson said. "No way were we going to lose to a team we've already beaten."
Edison and Mira Costa played in March at the Francis Parker Tournament and went three games in the best-of-3 pool-play series. That match gave Edison coach Brian Boone confidence his team could challenge the top-seeded Mustangs and maybe even catch them off guard.
Edison did just that in the third game, scoring the last five points of the game to rally from a 24-21 deficit. Tyler Strickland served an ace on game point to finish the rally and put Edison in position to win the match.
Instead, Mira Costa came alive at the net, making it difficult for the Edison hitters. Mira Costa blocked five shots for points in the fourth game, as many as they tallied in the first three games combined.
"We gave them all they could handle but the big difference," Boone said, "was that we had a tough time slowing down Quint Carroll and Rawson in the middle."
Carroll not only had 10 kills and four blocks, but also served 12 points for the Mustangs, including an ace. Outside hitter Chris Icaza made up for an inconsistent defensive performance with one of his best offensive matches of the season. The 6-foot senior had 16 kills and four digs and said he wouldn't let his team fail.
"I told Max Klineman, the setter, 'Set me as much as you can.' I've played in big matches before and I wanted the ball as much as I could get it," Icaza said. "I knew no matter what, no matter if we were out of sync, we would come out of it."
Klineman had 36 assists and two kills while Matt Wade had 27 assists, nine kills and two blocks.
The UCLA-bound senior said he never wondered if his high school career would end on Wednesday night.
"I was not concerned at all," Wade said. "I had faith we would come through like we have all year. We hadn't gone five games yet, though."
Coach Mike Cook called it a poor defensive effort, but credited back row specialist Eric Leserman with making all six of his digs late in the match. Jason Palacios led the way with eight digs to go with his 12 kills and three blocks.
Edison junior Tommy Pestolesi had 26 kills to lead the Chargers. Tim Golden added 11 kills while Strickland and JP Smith had 10 kills each.
"We wore them down." Cook said. "We were like the old John McKay-coached USC football teams. All that talent beat teams in the fourth quarter. We won this game with our physicality, not our fundamentals."
