Mira Costa Has Royal Flush

It’s not easy to be perfect.

But it’s harder to beat perfect, Royal High discovered Saturday.

Mira Costa concluded an undefeated season with a 15-6, 11-15, 15-10, 15-11 victory over Royal in the Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball championship at Cypress College.

Pat Nihipali delivered 19 kills, Jason Spratt added 16 and the top-seeded Mustangs (29-0) won their fourth title.

David Russell, who has signed with UCLA, had 27 kills for Royal, which held leads in all three games it lost.

Mira Costa simply finished better, becoming the fourth team in school history to go undefeated.

It wasn’t technically the top division, but it was considered the toughest of the five enrollment-based divisions.

“This one is a sweet one,” said Coach Mike Cook, in his 22nd season at Mira Costa. “It’s right there with [the] ’84 championship. In ’90 and ‘96, they were a piece of cake.

“But we ran into this Royal team and they were astounding. This was hard-earned.”

Mira Costa overturned a 6-5 deficit in the first game with five consecutive service points by Nihipali, a 6-foot-9 middle blocker better known for his play at the net.

Mira Costa rebounded from a 9-6 deficit in the third game and a 9-5 deficit in the fourth.

“We wanted to get out of here,” Nihipali said.

“We couldn’t accept to be in a five-game match. We never had that the whole year. We wanted to pound them.”

The loss marked the end of a road of revenge for unseeded Royal (26-5).

The Highlanders defeated Huntington Beach Marina in the quarterfinals and Loyola in the semifinals, avenging regular-season losses.

But Royal fell short trying to erase the memory of a four-game regular-season loss to Mira Costa.

“At points, we were a bunch of individuals out there and Mira Costa took it to us,” Russell said. “We weren’t as team-oriented and it showed.”

Royal took it to Mira Costa in the second game, Kamil Kowalski drilling nine of his 19 kills.

But Royal couldn’t hold onto the lead in the final two games.

“It’s really hard to sustain throughout a match against a quality team,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said.

“Once you get the roll going, you’ve got to keep it going. It’s hard to do.”

Mira Costa could roll again next season.

Nihipali, setter Gio Altamura, who had 62 assists, and 6-7 middle blocker Chris Ahlfeldt, who made eight kills, are juniors for the Mustangs.

“It’s bad news for everybody else,” Cook said. “Good news for Mira Costa.”