Huntington Beach volleyball falls short against Mira Costa in Div. 1 final
0Ghana mMay 17, 2025
Huntington Beach’s Logan Hutnick (11) watches during a time-out of the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s Grayson Bradford (20) scores over the defense of Huntington Beach’s Colin Choi (10) during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s head coach Craig Pazanti congratulates Huntington Beach’s Nick Ganier (32) after the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s head coach Greg Snyder holds up the championship trophy after the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s Thatcher Fahlbusch (0) and Wyatt Davis (11) celebrate a big point during the fourth game during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s Asher Mitchell (12) celebrates winning the fourth game of the match during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s bench celebrates a point during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s Nick Ganier (32) scores over two Mira Costa defenders during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach celebrates winning the fourth game of the match during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s volleyball team celebrates with the championship trophy after the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s Colin Choi (10) rallies his team during the fourth game of the match during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s Thatcher Fahlbusch (0) celebrates a big point during the fourth game during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s bench helps with the officiating during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Huntington Beach’s Kai Gan (7) dives into the press seats chasing a ball during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s Thatcher Fahlbusch (0) raises his arms in victory after the winning point during the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
Mira Costa’s team celebrates their victory after the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
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Huntington Beach’s Logan Hutnick (11) watches during a time-out of the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball championship game between Huntington Beach High and Mira Costa High at Cerritos College Friday May 16, 2025. (Photo by Michael Goulding, Contributing Photographer)
NORWALK – The Huntington Beach boys volleyball team had plenty of great moments in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final against Mira Costa.
Among them was a wildly entertaining fourth set the Oilers won to extend the match.
But they could not carry that success over to the fifth set and lost to Mira Costa, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11, Friday night at Cerritos College.
It is the ninth CIF-SS boys volleyball championship for Mira Costa, and the first for the program since 2021.
Mira Costa is No. 1 and Huntington Beach is No. 2 in the MaxPreps.com national rankings.
The Mustangs were close to winning the final in four sets. They served for the championship point four times in the set, including at 29-28. The Oilers got the final three points of the set to win it 31-29.
Colin Choi with the winner in the 4th set … a 31-29 win for Huntington Beach. Amazing set!!! HB and Mira Costa have won 2 sets each. pic.twitter.com/L5GZZTBigU
The fourth set was tied 15 times with seven lead changes.
The fifth and final set was tied 5-5 before Mira Costa (33-2) began to pull away. The Mustangs had a 14-7 lead, Huntington Beach battled back again to make it 14-11 but Mira Costa 6-foot-11 senior Grayson Bradford slammed home the winner to end the match.
Mira Costa wins the 5th set 15-11 to beat Huntington Beach 3-2 in the @CIFSS Division 1 final. Great stuff. Thoroughly entertaining. pic.twitter.com/JyexDPRe3j
Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti said he was proud of how his team battled Friday night.
“Those guys (the Mustangs) have been touted as the best team in the country since Day 1,” Pazanti said. “That fourth set we gave everything we could. I think we might have run out of gas a little bit.”
Sophomore outside hitter Logan Hutnick led Huntington Beach (34-4) with 22 kills. Junior opposite hitter Ben Arguello had 13 kills and Colin Choi had nine. Senior setter Kailan Gan had 53 assists.
Bradford, who signed with UCLA, was a problem all night for the Oilers. He had a match-high 25 kills and sophomore outside hitter Mateo Fuhrbringer had 17 kills.
Hutnick said the Oilers kept their confidence high all night Friday.
“We knew if they got a two-, three-point lead it wasn’t going to be over,” Hutnick said. “There was still going to be more volleyball to play. We just stayed calm and consistent, and we stuck with it.”
There is a chance for a Huntington Beach-Mira Costa rematch next week. Huntington Beach and Mira Costa will be in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I playoffs that begin Tuesday. The brackets will be released Sunday.
Mira Costa looked like the superior team throughout the opening set that the Mustangs won 25-19.
The Oilers displayed high energy, and perhaps Mira Costa was a tad flat, in the early portion of the second set. Huntington Beach jumped to a 7-0 lead and had a 17-7 lead. Mira Costa took over the play at the net again to outscore Huntington Beach 7-0 and make it 17-14.
That was as close as Mira Costa would get in the second set won by Huntington Beach 25-22.
It was Mira Costa with the big early spurt in the third set. The Mustangs returned to the form to take a 4-0 lead and went on to win it 25-19.
Huntington Beach was ahead most of the fourth set, including a 14-10 lead. Mira Costa caught up and passed the Oilers to go ahead 22-20. Then the fourth set got very entertaining.
The teams traded the lead over and over until Mira Costa escaped with the 31-29 win.
Then came the fifth set that Mira Costa won to take the match and the championship.
“Ton of credit to them (the Mustangs),” Pazanti said. “They’re a really good team. They just made a few more plays at the end of set five than we did.
“I’m super proud of my guys. Hopefully we get another chance at them next week.”
