Mira Costa Just Misses State Title

It took 21/2 hours and several breathtaking rallies to become official, but Manhattan Beach Mira Costa will have to wait another season.

Four points were the only difference between the Mustangs and Mountain View St. Francis, but it was enough to keep Mira Costa from winning its first state championship since 1989.

St. Francis defeated Mira Costa, 9-15, 15-8, 13-15, 15-4, 15-11 in the Division II girls’ volleyball championship Saturday at Cypress College.

The Mustangs held a 6-5 lead in the rally-scored fifth game, but St. Francis went on a 7-0 run to all but end it.

Mira Costa (32-6) will have to settle for a Southern Section title and a strong run through the state playoffs that included a sweep of Santa Ana Mater Dei.

“We didn’t get the icing on the cake,” Coach DaeLea Aldrich said. “But the cake is still there.”

With three late kills by Jessica Veris, Mira Costa was able to win a lengthy third game that featured 56 side-outs. But the Mustangs fell behind, 11-3, in the fourth game and never regained control. St. Francis (30-2) had two blocks and an ace its seven-point run in the fifth.

Veris finished with 23 kills and Teryn Spragg had 19 kills for Mira Costa. St. Francis outside hitter Jessica Gysin, only a sophomore, finished with 37 kills, the second highest since records began being kept in state finals in 1986.