Mustangs’ dream season ends with loss

CYPRESS ? The Costa Mesa High boys’ volleyball team had never won a league title before this season, much less advance to a CIF championship match. So it was understandable that the Mustangs would come out a bit nervous when they finally made it on the big stage that was the CIF Southern Section Division III title match at Cypress College.

Unfortunately for the No. 2-seeded Mustangs, their opponent ? No. 1-seeded Santa Monica ? wasn’t the least bit forgiving. Worse yet, the Vikings were sharp from the beginning and never let up.

Santa Monica notched wins in the first two games, then held off the late-surging Mustangs for a 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 victory in the Division III final on Saturday.

It marked the end of a stellar run for a group of guys who had never enjoyed anything close to this kind of success on the volleyball court.

“This team bonded, we did everything together,” senior outside hitter Ryan Bagwell said. “We’re like a family and we were able to put it all together our senior year. We did the best we could.”

Costa Mesa (23-6), which went undefeated in the Golden West League and hadn’t lost a best-of-five match all season, looked sloppy at times in dropping the first two games.

“I think we were a little nervous in the beginning,” first-year Costa Mesa Coach Chris Komer said. “Nervous to be on the big stage. Unfortunately, it took us the first two games to get going.”

After the first two games, when getting swept looked probable, Komer took his players off the court and they converged in the corner of the gymnasium.

“I just wanted to get them out from in front of the crowd for a minute and remind them what a great season they’ve had,” Komer said.

“He also said if we don’t win this game, that’s it,” said senior middle blocker Mitch Caldwell. “We knew that, but it still hit home and we stepped up a bit.”

After two service aces and a kill by Bagwell and a huge block by Trevor Smith early in the third game, it was clear Costa Mesa had gone back to the form that landed them in the Division III championship match in the first place.

Costa Mesa took a 20-19 lead on a Santa Monica serve that sailed wide and never looked back. Senior Will Lefebvre followed with an ace, then an unforced error by the Vikings gave the Mustangs a 22-19 lead. Bagwell closed the game with a pair of kills.

Bagwell had four kills and four aces in the game and finished with a team-high 10 kills and five aces.

“When he’s on, we’re on, and he was on in game three,” Komer said.

The play of the Mustangs remained solid into game four, when they had a lead as late as 18-17. A pair of kills by left-handed opposite hitter Michael Campbell helped give the Vikings a 22-19 lead. Campbell finished with 13 kills for the Vikings.

“That’s the first left-hander we’ve played against that’s been a team’s go-to guy,” Komer said.

A block by Ryan French and a kill by Smith helped the Mustangs tie the score, 22-22. But Campbell’s kill, sandwiched between two errant Costa Mesa kill attempts, gave the Vikings the game and the match.

“We got it going in the third game and we had it going in the fourth, but sometimes one or two mistakes and that’s it,” Bagwell said.

Despite the loss, it remained a special season for a group of longtime friends. After years of having little success on the volleyball court, seniors like Caldwell, Tony Krikorian, Lefebvre, Edward Miettinen, Bagwell, French, Smith and Andrew Melcer came together in their last year of high school and formed the best boys’ volleyball team the school has ever seen.

“All the seniors who have been around three or four years, getting beat up their sophomore and juniors years,” Komer said. “It’s great to see them turn it around for their senior year.”

“We’ve been friends forever,” Caldwell said. “We always had each other’s back.”dpt-cmvolley28.IMGGraphicInfo7U1RDUCM200605287U1RDUCMNo Captiondpt.28-cm-volley-5-BPhotoInfo7H1RDU3K20060528izyh3qncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Costa Mesa’s Mitch Caldwell swings at a quick set during Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division III championship.