Costa Mesa girls’ volleyball secures sweep in Battle for the Bell

The pyramid of Orange Coast League girls’ volleyball puts Laguna Beach High at the top.

A sweep by the Breakers over Costa Mesa on Tuesday night indicated that is not likely to change.

Once the playoffs arrive, however, all other teams in the league will part ways with their Division 3 foe. That gives them more than the proverbial puncher’s chance in having something to fight for. The battle for playoff spots is on, and Costa Mesa proved itself a serious contender with a convincing win over host Estancia on Thursday night.

Courtney Moore had a match-high 18 kills as the Mustangs swept the Eagles, 25-16, 25-17, 25-10, in the first of two league meetings between the crosstown rivals.

The senior outside hitter blistered her spikes against minimal resistance. She had her setters – Malia Tufuga (15 assists) and Ashley Nguyen (12 assists) – to thank for the performance.

“The biggest part is talking to each other and telling them what I want to be set,” Moore said. “They’ll work with what I want. I’ll work with what they can do.

“I’m confident because I’m confident in my setters.”

Tufuga has the respect of her teammates, wherever she has laced them up. She started as a freshman for the Mustangs’ volleyball, basketball, and softball teams last year.

As if that were not impressive enough, she has occupied a position of heavy influence in each sport. A setter in volleyball, she also played catcher during the softball season.

“I always want to be the one to model encouragement and being enthusiastic,” said Tufuga, who also had nine kills in the match. “Having adrenaline on the court and the field, I feel, is just important. There always needs to be someone to take that role.”

Another multisport athlete for Costa Mesa (12-5, 2-1) is middle blocker Felicia Crenshaw, a superb thrower who was the Daily Pilot Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year as a junior. She had five kills, two aces, and 1½ blocks.

Libero Rae Galarion had 12 digs for the Mustangs.

Estancia (7-6, 1-2) briefly made it interesting in the second set. A run of four consecutive points saw the Eagles tie the score, 14-14, aided by a controversial line call on a block by Taylor Sweet.

The Mustangs rattled off eight straight points after that, closing out the second set, 25-17. Costa Mesa would build a 14-2 lead in the third, as the Eagles were unable to apply any scoreboard pressure.

Estancia coach Rick Reeve held several heart-to-heart conversations with individual players after the match, addressing the need to see a collective effort from the team.

“In my postgame talk, I talked to them about ‘How much do you really want it?’” Reeve said. “They have the skill. I think they get in their heads a lot.

“During one of our timeouts, I didn’t even hang out in their huddle. I said, ‘You have to work it out.’ That’s where our fall was.”

Sarah Graham led the Eagles with seven kills, while Louise Chupeau provided 13 assists and two aces.

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