Laguna pattern stays steady

The boys’ volleyball series between Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa has been a lopsided affair throughout the years and Tuesday’s Orange Coast League matchup between the host Breakers and Mustangs continued that pattern.

Laguna flexed its domination at Costa Mesa’s expense again, sweeping the Mustangs, 25-12, 25-16, 25-10, at Dugger Gymnasium.

The Breakers played well in many aspects of the match, jumping out to leads in all three games and rolled to victory in each instance.

Laguna improved to 48-1 all-time versus Costa Mesa.

The Breakers have not lost a game in league play in improving to 4-0. Laguna Coach Lance Stewart has maintained that the key to his team’s continued success against league competition is to remain consistent in its play.

“We play with a lot of confidence against these teams and we need to do the same against the top teams that we’ll face in the playoffs,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said. “We’ve had it pretty easy in league so far, with the exception of Calvary (Chapel) who gave us a good match.

“I think one of the biggest challenges in league play is for the kids to take pride in their performance, take pride in their skills, every time out. It’s a matter of going out and wanting to do your best, no matter what’s happening on the other side of the net. It also comes down to improving at practice, too.”

In Tuesday’s win over the Mustangs (1-3), Laguna (8-13 overall) got 11 kills apiece from Shawn Merz and Blair Bigelow and six more each from Mike Kahl and Cooper Gwaltney.

Kahl and Kal Mokhtar, who has been sidelined due to a back injury since Laguna’s season opener, each had nine digs. Clay Knapp finished with 38 set assists.

“I thought Mikey Kahl had a nice match attacking and digging the ball,” Stewart said. “It was nice to have Kal back in the lineup. He played solid at libero and his return adds depth to our team and gives us more options.”

Laguna’s other libero, Chris Reames, missed Tuesday’s match due to bruised ribs, Stewart said.

The Breakers go for league win No. 5 at 5:45 p.m. today when they play at Estancia. The Eagles fell to 0-4 in league after being swept Tuesday by Calvary Chapel.

On Tuesday, Laguna travels to Calvary Chapel as the second of three rounds of league play ends.

In track and field

Laguna hosted Estancia Thursday but the results weren’t available at press time.

The Breakers are scheduled to compete Saturday at the Orange County Championships at Mission Viejo High. They will return to league competition Wednesday at Costa Mesa.

CIF-Southern Section rankings

The Laguna Beach boys’ volleyball team maintained its No. 5 ranking in the latest CIF-SS Division II poll.

Division II: 1. Corona del Mar; 2. Santa Barbara; 3. Valencia/Valencia; 4. Dos Pueblos; 5. Laguna Beach; 6. San Marcos; 7. Claremont; 8. Arcadia; 9. Santa Ynez; 10. Saugus. Others: Canyon/Canyon Country; Oxnard; San Luis Obispo.

The poll was released Monday by the Southern Section office in Los Alamitos.

The boys’ volleyball team was the lone Laguna spring sports team to grace a top 10 poll. There have been no polls released for boys’ and girls’ track and field.