Costa Mesa boys’ volleyball making surprising playoff run

The Costa Mesa boys’ volleyball team has furnished a deep playoff run behind a belief in each other when few others did.

Coach Tan Nguyen is encouraging the Mustangs to stick together as they attempt to send the program to its second CIF Southern Section final.

Prior to the Mustangs’ quarterfinal match on Thursday, Nguyen said he walked in and wrote the words, “Don’t believe the hype,” on the board, a phrase that would resonate with any underdog.

Junior outside hitter Dimitri Downs had 20 kills, and Costa Mesa defeated Pomona Ganesha 27-25, 25-16, 25-17 for its second consecutive home triumph in the postseason.

“Don’t believe in the hype,” Nguyen repeated. “But underneath, I wrote, ‘Put in the work, put in the passion, you’ll get there.’ That’s what I wrote, and that’s what I told the boys. All that extra stuff on the outside just affects your ability to work. You can just put in the work, put in the maximum effort. Whatever comes from there, comes from there.”

For the second time this week, unranked Costa Mesa (16-9) emerged victorious from a trying first set. The Mustangs also had to go past regulation to secure the opening set in their upset of No. 3-seeded Palmdale Knight on Tuesday.

Downs misfired on his first three swings against No. 6 Ganesha (28-5), but he delivered pivotal contributions late in Game 1, erasing two set points with kills. Junior outside hitter John Luong followed with one of his 11 kills to give the Mustangs their first set point, which they converted on a hitting error by the Giants.

“I just know I have to have good confidence in myself,” Downs said. “I know that I’ll just keep swinging, and if I stay confident in myself, I’ll hit it hard. I trust myself, and I trust my team. I trust my setter to kind of put it up and give me an opportunity to make myself improve from those mistakes.”

Costa Mesa travels to No. 7 Riverside Poly (24-9) for its semifinal match on Saturday. The Mustangs’ only prior appearance in a section championship game came in 2006, which ended in a four-set defeat to Santa Monica in Division III.

Senior opposite Chris Rivera had a team-leading 19 digs and two blocks assists. Junior setter Adam Menendez spread around 43 assists to go with two service aces. Senior middle blocker Justin Foreman had nine kills and two block assists, junior outside hitter Kurt Mateo had five kills and 1½ total blocks, and senior reserve Nam Le chipped in with two aces.

“It’s going to take dedication, it’s going to take us playing all on point, it’s going to take us doing everything we can, but I honestly think we got it because we’re a special bunch,” Foreman said of what needs to be done for the Mustangs to reach their first CIF final in 18 years. “I think we’ve got a lot of potential and a lot of power on our team.”

Sophomore outside hitter Jaden Delgado-Matsuda paced the Giants with 14 kills. Senior outside hitter Isaac Carranza and senior middle blocker Eric Galvez each had seven kills.