Oxford Academy rallies past Costa Mesa in first round of CIF Division 6 girls’ volleyball playoffs

CYPRESS â€”  The Costa Mesa High girls’ volleyball team had taken the first two sets, putting itself in prime position to move on to the next round.

The screech of sneakers on the hardwood got louder, and louder still, and it signaled impending doom for the visiting Mustangs.

Oxford Academy dug in defensively, rallying from match point down to defeat Costa Mesa 27-29, 24-26, 25-16, 28-26, 15-9 on Thursday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.

Costa Mesa’s Natasha Ruiz (10) keeps the ball in play against Oxford Academy in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs at Oxford Academy in Cypress on Thursday.

(James Carbone)

“They played well,� Oxford coach Allan Comerford said. “They stepped up, and they didn’t let anything fall, so I can’t complain.�

The Patriots played in a five-set match for the first time this season, and they staved off a match point in the fourth set. Costa Mesa coach Jillian Rifkin was shown a yellow card after questioning whether the Patriots committed a lift violation during the point.

“Even though the ball came out with no spin, I thought she took it kind of as a throw,� Rifkin said. “I’m thankful for the refs to be here. We had plenty of chances. It was what it is.�

Costa Mesa’s Vanessa Castillo (5) returns a serve against Oxford Academy in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.

(James Carbone)

Charlotte Emmerling-Fink produced a service point on the next point, and a net violation gave the Patriots the fourth set.

Oxford then jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth. Costa Mesa clawed back into the set, courtesy of a four-point run with Jamie Kibin at the service line, but the Mustangs’ passing faltered late.

An ace by Jenevieve Urfano completed the comeback win for Oxford (25-5), which plays host to Redlands Arrowhead Christian (19-6) in the second round on Saturday.

“I think middles are our strength,� said Rifkin, who said the break down in passing forced the Mustangs to go away from setting the middle. “That’s what separates us from maybe some other teams we play. They don’t set their middles at all.

“If you look at our season stats, we almost are even across the board, but you never see outsides, middles and right sides almost even on kills.�

Reygan Schneider had a team-high 14 kills to go with 19 digs for Costa Mesa (12-10). Hana Batlik added nine kills, Natasha Ruiz had eight kills and Kaitlyn Yagerlener provided seven kills for the Mustangs.

Costa Mesa’s girls’ volleyball team celebrate a score during a tie game in the third set against Oxford Academy Thursday.

(James Carbone)

“We played hard,� Batlik said. “We played good. We tried our best. Definitely pushed through the start and then kind of fell off a little bit, but we stayed together, and we tried to cheer. The only important thing is that we stayed as a team and we just kept cheering on each other.�

Rosey Madriaga contributed 35 assists and 15 digs, and Vanessa Castillo also had 27 digs for Costa Mesa, which was the third-place team in the Orange Coast League this season.

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