MANHATTAN BEACH — The Mira Costa boys volleyball team had more than just a game and thoughts of a return to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match on its minds Friday night.
The top-seeded Mustangs swept fourth-seeded Corona del Mar 25-13, 25-21, 25-20 to close out Pool A play unbeaten through three matches.
Mira Costa (32-2) did so in memory of Loyola senior tennis star Braun Levi, who was killed Sunday while on foot when he was struck by a suspected drunk driver.
Before the match, the entire Mira Costa team warmed up in T-shirts with the message “Live Like Braun” on the back that was placed underneath a depiction of the sun that had the Loyola logo at the center.
The reserves donned the shirts throughout the match.
“It was tough because in practice we were a little down, but I think it really motivated us,” Mustangs sophomore Mateo Fuerbringer said. “Braun was a really good kid and everyone’s friend. It really motivated us to come out and play hard and win.
“He always had a smile on his face wherever he was. No matter what the situation was, he always smiled.”
Mira Costa will face second-seeded Huntington Beach, the Pool B winner, in next Friday’s championship match scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cerritos College. Last year, the Mustangs were swept by Loyola in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship match.
Mira Costa is seeking its first CIF-SS title since 2021, and coach Greg Snyder is hoping recent history is on his team’s side as it starts “smelling the finish line.”
The Mustangs avenged a 2019 loss in the finals with a championship in 2021. No champion was crowned in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Oh, it definitely sticks,” Snyder said of last year’s result. “I think whoever loses the CIF finals has a clear advantage in the next one. They just get hungrier.”
Mira Costa got a team-high 10 kills from Karson Knapp to go with nine kills and three service aces from Fuerbringer. Middle blocker Alex Heins chipped in eight kills and three blocks.
The Mustangs overwhelmed the Sea Kings (25-6) from the outset, racing out to a 12-2 advantage in the opening set. The Mustangs had a balanced attack, scoring from both pins and the middle.
The Sea Kings did not settle into a rhythm until they erased an early deficit in the second set.
“‘We’ve been here before,’” CdM coach Katey Thompson said she told her team. “‘We’ve lost in this gym before, that shouldn’t shake us at all.’ So, in that second set we needed to come out and play CdM Sea Kings volleyball. We came out with a little bit more pressure on them, switched our lineup, moved things around, and it gave us a good start in that second set.”
CdM immediately bounced back from a 3-0 hole to start the set and took its first lead of the contest after Hunter Hanneman’s block capped a string of four consecutive points to pull ahead 4-3.
It was the Sea Kings’ third consecutive block of the spurt.
Mira Costa trailed by as many as four but regrouped thanks to a strong serve from Fuerbringer, who had two of his three aces in the set.
Trailing 13-10, Fuerbringer’s pair of serves were part of a 6-1 run to take back control.
CdM tied the set on a pair of occasions, including the last instance at 17-17, but never jumped back in front.
“I feel like we’re kind of finding our grove right now,” Snyder said. “A lot of times we play, like, two good sets and one not quite as sharp. So, every time I see three good sets I’m absolutely fired up and realize the guys are doing in the right direction. It couldn’t be at a better time.”
Snyder and Heins added that part of the major points of emphasis were to take away Sea Kings outside hitter and No. 1 option Ben Brown, who had just one kill in the opening set before finishing with nine and an ace.
In the third set, Mira Costa setter Andrew Chapin continued to spread the wealth.
Leading 14-11, Chapin faked out the CdM block as he sold a swing attempt well before passing off to middle blocker Wyatt Davis in the same motion for the easy kill.
“It makes life a lot easier,” Fuerbringer said of Chapin. “We get 1-on-1s all the time and we have a bunch of great hitters.”
The Sea Kings pulled within 18-17 on Brown’s ace but never made another run to extend the contest.
The match was moved up a day to accommodate the players attending the celebration of life Saturday for Levi.
Snyder said the school put in the request to move up the date with the CIF-SS. Thompson said CdM was notified of the approved change Tuesday night.
Heins said the Mustangs began to grieve together Monday.
“We all just went through a tough time. The best way to come back from that is just try to get things back to normal, just play,” Heins said. “We all love this game, (Levi) loved this game. Just kind of support his memory by playing this game.”
