Santa Barbara turned out to be a great weekend getaway for the Mira Costa girls volleyball team.
The Mustangs had the best time as they defeated the nation’s No. 1 team Archbishop Mitty in the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and followed with a win over No. 2-seeded Torrey Pines for the championship on Saturday at J.R. Richards Gym. Both matches went four sets. The semifinal scores were 25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19. The final was 16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24.
“It was a great weekend to get together and play next to each other and get comfortable,” Mira Costa coach Hayley Lawson Blanchard said. “We’ve had different lineup switches happening over the whole season and this one just clicked and it went beautifully.”
Mustangs outside hitter Ashley Anselmo was named the tournament MVP and teammates Skylar Caputo and Katie Rethmeyer were picked to the all-tournament team. Savannah Rennie and Sami Simo of Torrey Pines rounded out the all-tourney team.
In local results, San Marcos lost in the consolation final in three sets (25-16, 25-13, 25-18) against Flintridge Sacred Heart, the No. 6-ranked team in the 1AA Division. Santa Barbara swept St. Francis of San Jose, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21, in the 13th-place match and Dos Pueblos fell to Dana Hills in the 15th-place match.
Mira Costa girls celebrate after beating No. 2 seed Torrey Pines for the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions title. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Mira Costa’s title and victories over two powerhouse teams should grab the attention of the CIF-SS Division 1AA voters and those who do national rankings.
“People haven’t expected us to do as well as we’ve done,” Blanchard said. “Mira Costa used to always be top 10 in the country and in the past few years we haven’t been. I think people have forgotten about us and this really shows that we’re ready to win CIF again.”
Saturday’s title was Mira Costa’s first since 2007. The Mustangs reclaimed it by playing outstanding defense and playing with confidence. In both the semifinals and final, they battled back after losing the first set.
They frustrated Mitty by digging nearly every ball and scoring in transition. Mitty’s loss was only its second of the season.
“Our libero (Emma Smith) was incredible, she was everywhere and was calm,” Blanchard said. “Skylar played some amazing defense. We’ve done a lot better at keeping out-of-system balls in play, which saves those long rallies.”
The Mustangs got big play from middles Rethmeyer and Erin Sagasi.Anselmo was a force at the net on the outside, Caputo delivered in clutch situations and the team served tough.
“Everyone played their best all the time for four matches straight, which is rare and incredible at the same time,” said Blanchard.
