Mira Costa boys volleyball defeats rival Loyola

The CIF championship was not on the road, but it might as effectively have been Friday night time in the annual boys’ volleyball showdown between Mira Costa and Loyola.

Showing why they entered their grudge match in Manhattan Beach ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, two of the Southland’s most storied applications battled for 5 scintillating units as the host Mustangs rallied for a 18-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11 win in an on the spot traditional that lasted over two and a half hours.

Leading the comeback was junior exterior hitter Mateo Fuerbringer, who completed with 37 kills, 5 blocks and three aces. Considered the top recruit in the nation, he dedicated to UCLA in December.

“They came out hot and we weren’t playing our best,” said Fuerbringer, whose sister Charlie was a setter for Mira Costa and just wrapped up her sophomore season at Wisconsin, main the Badgers to the Final Four. “We knew if we just stayed with it and played out the game we could win it.”

The Mustangs, who received their ninth Southern Section crown last spring and subsequently captured the inaugural Division I state title in Fresno, notched their fifteenth consecutive victory and improved to 22-1.

Wyatt Davis, a senior headed to UC Santa Barbara, added 13 kills and seven blocks and senior reverse hitter Enzo Barker pounded 9 kills for top-ranked Mira Costa, which leveled the match at two units on a right-side kill from Fuerbringer.

“We knew they’re a great team,” Davis said of Loyola. “Between sets two and three we made adjustments, guys came off the bench to make key plays, Enzo moved to the outside and we made less errors in the last set. We wanted it more than them.”

Mira Costa’s lone setback got here Feb. 21 against Corona del Mar in the Redondo Classic remaining — a loss the Mustangs avenged 4 days later. Corona del Mar edged Loyola in the Best of the West semifinals March 7, but Loyola turned the tables on the Sea Kings in nonleague motion.

Senior exterior hitter and USC signee Blake Fahlbusch led Loyola on Friday with 15 kills and 4 blocks, senior libero and Loyola Chicago commit Matt Kelly was a whirling dervish on protection, hitter JP Wardy contributed 10 kills and reverse Lucas Posell had 9 for the No. 2 Cubs (12-2). Fahlbusch’s brother Thatcher performed for Mira Costa and is now a freshman exterior hitter at Hawaii.

Mira Costa swept last yr’s nonleague assembly at Loyola to end a four-year dropping streak to the Cubs, who had handed the Mustangs their first loss in the Best of the West finals. Mira Costa misplaced only one more match (to Chicago Marist at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions) to end 37-2 last spring.

The Mustangs are on tempo to surpass that win complete even after the commencement of Grayson Bradford, now a freshman at UCLA.

“It’s nice having a middle like Wyatt [Davis],” said Mira Costa senior setter Jake Newman, who had 55 assists. “He and Charlie give me great options. It’s a pretty easy concept.”

Loyola holds the part document with 13 titles, the last in 2024 when it beat Mira Costa 25-21, 25-22, 25-21, in the finals behind 15 kills from Sean Kelly, now at UCLA. The groups met three earlier instances in the finals, Loyola profitable in 2005 and 2010 and Mira Costa prevailing in 2012.

“We knew we could do it,” Newman added. “We knew at some point we’d get that spot where we’re playing our best. I started to key in on their blockers to see who was switching on Mateo.”

Coach Greg Snyder, in his third season at Mira Costa, needs to pilot his squad to a repeat but is aware of it won’t be simple.

“The first two sets we were predictable, we were passing poorly, they got us out of system and got a lot of touches on our swings,” Snyder said. “Mateo played great but we were too Mateo-heavy tonight. We have to run that middle because we’re better than them there.”

Snyder totally expects to see Loyola again this season.

“The gym was packed — this got more buildup than when we played them in the finals,” he said. “I felt whoever won tonight should be the No. 1 team in the country and whoever lost should be No. 2.”