Costa Mesa girls’ volleyball sweeps rival Estancia, rings the bell
With a straight-sets win in the initial meeting between crosstown rivals this girls’ volleyball season, Costa Mesa needed just one set on Tuesday to retain the coveted trophy.
The Mustangs handled an inspired run of play from host Estancia to open the match, then went on to earn another sweep of the Eagles by the count of 25-21, 25-14, 25-21 in the Orange Coast League contest.
Costa Mesa (16-5, 7-3) traversed a first set that featured 12 ties, finishing it with a swing off the block by freshman outside hitter Gracie Glass, who had a match-high nine kills.
“Gracie is so good by herself,” said junior outside hitter Aubrey Spallone, who added six kills and four service aces. “I just want to build her confidence because I know she’s capable of doing amazing things, and I’m just excited to watch her grow.”
It has been a trying time for Costa Mesa. Head coach Jillian Rifkin have to leave the bench after undergoing Achilles surgery. Rifkin, who was on the bench Tuesday, remained seated throughout the match, using a scooter to get around.
Jacob Lee, an assistant who has taken the lead in the coaching duties of late, showed up to the contest with a heavy heart. Lee said his mother went in for heart surgery on Monday.
“She still has a long way to go, through her recovery, hopefully,” Lee said. “It’s just going to take time. The only thing I ask is that the community say their prayers, if they can. At the end of the day, she’s in the best hands of her doctors right now at St. Joseph’s Medical.”
Senior opposite Jamie Kibin had consecutive aces to close out the second set. Sophomore setter Isabel Ortega-Davidson distributed 23 assists to go with three kills. Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Yagerlener had four kills, and sophomore middle blocker Lucca Miller provided 2½ blocks for Costa Mesa in the win.
“My goal was to just get them to become better players these next two weeks, when Jillian was out,” Lee said of his coaching approach. “I told them, ‘That’s all I care about. If we’re improving across the board, from the starter all the way down to the last person who’s on the bench, then we succeed. They have been improving.”
The Mustangs built a substantial lead in the third set and were able to empty the bench. As the score tightened, Ortega-Davidson and Spallone were among those brought back to finish the match.
“It feels really good,” Ortega-Davidson said of contributing in a starting role. “It makes me feel like I have a role, I have a responsibility, and I kept up to it.”
Senior outside hitter Leila Sanchez had seven kills to lead Estancia (14-9, 3-6). Senior middle blocker Ella Richards and junior outside hitter Jenna Schroeder each had four kills, and senior setter Mailee Blanchard contributed 15 assists, two aces and a block.
For the Eagles and first-year head coach Jake Melcer, who was elevated from working with the program’s lower levels, they continue to trek toward their primary goal. Melcer said he wanted to finish the season with a winning record.
“We’ve made a lot of progress throughout the year,” Melcer said. “Today was a great example, because usually passing is a bit of our weak spot, but today, we passed a lot better than we ever have. That was huge against a tougher serving team to be able to execute on passing better than we had before.”
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