New-look Costa Mesa girls’ volleyball extends winning streak versus Estancia

After graduating 10 seniors in the spring, the Costa Mesa girls’ volleyball program is, by and large, starting over.

While multiple starters are just a handful of games into their varsity careers, a crosstown rivalry match at home offered a chance to build confidence and gain experience.

Costa Mesa pulled out a close first set, then rolled to a 25-23, 25-18, 25-6 win over Estancia on Monday. The Mustangs stretched their winning streak over the Eagles to 18 matches in the Battle for the Bell, covering every meeting since the beginning of the 2016 season.

Senior outside hitter Gracie Glass, one of two starters from the Mustangs’ last playoff team in 2024, had a dozen kills and three service aces.

Anusuya Guragain, a senior libero, had a match-leading five aces, as Costa Mesa (3-2) moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season.

“Having to [play] in these situations is always great for us because it means we get to learn and grow from these situations,” Costa Mesa coach Jacob Lee said. “If we’re not in these environments, we don’t get to learn what needs to be done when it really matters.”

In the course of the rivalry game, the Mustangs navigated a turbulent first set in which they supplied the service error that accounted for half of the Eagles’ initial 10 points.

A critical stretch saw ZoeSophia Bialecki, a sophomore outside hitter, serve up back-to-back aces, part of an 8-1 run that provided rare sustained momentum in the opening game.

Outside hitter Alana Fatzinger responded with an extended serving run of her own — including two of her three aces — to knot the score at 16-16. Then Estancia (4-2) nearly stole the set, taking a 23-22 advantage on a Stella Shandalove ace, compelling Lee to take his final timeout.

Costa Mesa prevailed. The Eagles committed a hitting error out of the stoppage, followed by a Kendall Curran kill and a Clare Dease ace to close out the first set.

“It’s definitely a lot of pressure, just because it’s so huge between the two schools,” Bialecki said of playing in the rivalry game for the first time at the varsity level, ringing the Bell trophy afterward. “I think it’s so much fun to see everyone come out and watch the game. It’s a great feeling to win.”

The rivalry attracted a crowd, with a group of male students painting their chests in Costa Mesa green and white with letters signifying the initials for the name of the rivalry. They celebrated by running around the court after each successive set was claimed by the hosts.

Glass factored heavily into the late stages of the second set. With the teams once again deadlocked at 16-16, she had three kills and two aces from that point.

Junior middle blocker Mia Walker, who had six kills and 1½ total blocks, was part of a double-block effort, with Curran, that clinched the second set.

“It was super great,” Walker said of the game-ending block. “It was a good feeling, seeing everyone getting so excited. I just really wanted to put all of my work [into] the game, try my hardest, … and that was really fun to see that happen.”

Lee, who was seen working with Walker on hand positioning for the block mid-match, was pleased with the in-game application.

“Mia played really well in what she was needed to do tonight,” Lee said. “In fact, probably the best moment, I think, I had with her was telling her, like, ‘Hey, we need to fix your block this way,’ and then three plays later, she figures it out, and all of a sudden, she’s blocking again.”

Senior setter Avery Contreras had 16 assists and three aces for Costa Mesa. Sophomore setter Avery Karlin added eight assists and two aces, and Dease finished with six kills.

Makayla Ruorock contributed eight assists and two aces for Estancia, which last year reached the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 9 playoffs. Shandalove produced four kills and three aces. Middle blocker Nia Booze and Fatzinger each had three kills.