Boys’ Volleyball: Too much Tufuga
This week has been a huge one for the Costa Mesa High boys’ volleyball team.
On Tuesday, the Mustangs ended powerhouse Laguna Beach’s 161-set winning streak in Orange Coast League play. The previous team to win a set against Laguna Beach was Costa Mesa six years ago. That same year marked the Mustangs’ last appearance in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
The Mustangs are now one win away from clinching one of the league’s three berths into the Division 2 playoffs. Mason Tufuga led the way during the Mustangs’ 25-13, 21-25, 25-14, 25-16 win at home against archrival Estancia, finishing with 24 kills, seven blocks and four service aces on Thursday.
Costa Mesa improved to 5-2 in league, staying in a two-way tie for second place with Godinez after the Mustangs swept the two-match Battle for the Bell series against the Eagles for the third straight year. Tufuga has played a big role in Costa Mesa claiming the rivalry again since taking up volleyball at the school for the first time last year as a sophomore.
In his junior season, Tufuga, a 6-foot-5 opposite, has been a force against Estancia, amassing 68 kills. He didn’t need another 44-kill effort or rally the Mustangs to a five-set win against Estancia, which dropped to 1-6 in league.
The only set Costa Mesa (10-4 overall) dropped was because Coach Todd Hanson advised setter Coby Pham to get other players involved in Game 2. As a result, the Mustangs went away from Tufuga a bit too much. The Eagles, who played without senior outside hitter Kaena McReynolds (ankle), took the second set behind Josh Griffith. The 6-6 freshman middle blocker stuffed three shots, including one by Tufuga in the second set.
“Last time we did a really good job on everybody but that big middle,” Hanson said, referring to Griffith. “He did a great job of mixing it up between hitting and tipping [last time]. All week this week, I got up on a [2 1/2-foot] box and I just imitated him. I hit hard or I tipped.”
The preparation worked out for the Mustangs, even though they were without a starting middle blocker. Hanson said Christian Chavez missed the match because he’s also a member of the Costa Mesa boys’ track and field team, which had a meet on Thursday.
Hanson started Adam JeyaRajah and Joseph Saucedo in the middle, and the two slowed Griffith down. The middle blocker position has been an issue for Costa Mesa, which lost a starter right before league began and his replacement during spring break. The first quit, the second moved.
“I mean, it sucks, but it’s kind of like a thing at Costa Mesa, where guys aren’t as committed as they would be in a different sport,” Tufuga said of losing players. “But I think for the circumstances that we had we did really well adapting and we’ve played really well. We’re 5-2 in league and that’s the best record we’ve had in a long, long time.”
The last time Costa Mesa prevailed in five league matches was in 2009, the same year it took a set from Laguna Beach and reached the CIF Southern Section Division II quarterfinals.
This past Tuesday, the Mustangs actually lasted five sets at Laguna Beach (15-3, 7-0 in league), the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 poll. Despite the Breakers not having the services of two starters, middle blocker Tyler Alter (rotator cuff) and opposite Jack Burgi (sick), Hanson said going the distance against Laguna Beach meant something.
“Considering in the past, even when they put in their subs, they beat us pretty handily, but the last season and a half, we’ve really started to step it up defensively and offensively,” said Hanson, whose team has three league matches left, the next one is a second-place showdown at home against Godinez on Tuesday. “Mason gets his kills, but the other guys, they compliment him very well.”