Now that’s what you call CIF playoff volleyball.

In the quarterfinal volleyball match last night in Lakewood the Lancers and Mira Costa Mustangs went back-and-forth for all four sets.  Ultimately, it was the Mustangs’ ability to put the petal to the metal and close when they needed to that helped them to a 25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18 victory.

“That’s something new for us,” said Mira Costa coach Lisa Zimmerman of the ‘Stangs closing ability.  “It’s been a season long process… we play the freshman and it’s tough early in the year… it all came together tonight.”

The two squads clashed early and there were 11 ties in the first set, 26 ties on the night.  But ignoring the score and watching Lakewood’s Jazmine Orozco and Costa’s Falyn Fonoimoana do what they do was more than entertaining.  It was downright impressive.

Orozco had two kills for the Lancers’ first two points of the night and the senior finished with a team-high 19 kills.  The Lancer leader did an amazing job avoiding Fonoimoana’s big block at the net, working the line and sneaking them crosscourt.

Meanwhile, Fonoimoana did her damage early with 10 kills in the first set and seven in the second on her way to 25 on the night.  The senior, headed to USC, stands at a cautious 6’3” but it was her athleticism that befuddled the Lancer defense early. Fonoimoana made a habit of running up the line wide, then cutting back to the middle at the last second to bounce a kill in the middle of the floor.

“You have to watch her at all times,” said Lakewood coach Mike Wadley.  “You can’t hit through her so you have to go away from her… we did at some points, but we got away from our game plan… we defiantly had our chances.”

In the first set it was all Fonoimoana/Orozco and when Costa took their first timeout it was tied at 18.  Orozco came back out and aced the first serve, but a Fonoimoana kill tied it at 19.  That’s when the Mustangs turned it on.  Two Lakewood attack errors, a Fonoimoana block and two Fonoimoana kills keyed a 6-2 Costa run that ended the first set in their favor, 25-21.

Costa rode the momentum and jumped out to a 11-4 lead in the second set, but Lakewood came charging back with Tyler Jackson on the outside and Tyler Hollins in the middle.  The two “T’s” scored six of the next 14 points as the Lancers tied it at 18.  Back-to-back aces from the jump-serving Jackson forced Costa to take a timeout, but out of the break the ‘Stangs were all business. Sheridan Taylor started to find her rhythm and a block and a kill from the senior middle lifted Costa to a 24-23 lead.  Now, take a wild, flailing stab in the dark as to where senior setter Alyssa Anderson sent the next pass?  If you guessed Fonoimoana, you’ve been paying attention.  A thunderous kill in the middle ended the set, 25-23.

Here at LBPOSTsports.com we were the only ones to report that the Lancers had flip-flopped their rotation headed into the CIF playoffs—moving Hollins to the middle from the outside, and moving Chrissy Tuua from the middle to the outside.  Last month in the Las Vegas Durango Classic tournament, Lakewood beat Costa with a great game from Hollins on the outside.  With his teams back to the wall last night, coach Wadley went back to what worked the first match and put Hollins back on the outside.  It worked for a set.

In the third Hollins tallied six of her 13 kills, and it was her huge swing on the left that limited Fonoimoana to just three kills in the set.  Hollins ended the set with a laser down the line, 25-20.

The fourth set was a microcosm of the night as there were nine ties and 11 lead changes with Fonoimoana and Orozco trading their proverbial punches.  However it was the play of Costa’s Taylor that proved to be the difference.  Four of her nine kills on the night came with the score tied, and after she broke a 13-13 tie, the Mustangs went on a 12-4 run to end the night, and the Lancers season.  Costa will advance to see Los Alamitos in the semis.

“I’m proud of my team, but I think we fell a little short this year,” said Wadley after the match.  The senior class that is led by Orozco and Hollins has helped the Lancers reach the quarterfinals each of the last four years, including a State Championship their freshman year. 

“We beat (Costa) before,” said Wadley.  “I think they just came out a little more fired up… that’s all it took.”