MANHATTAN BEACH — Cam Green anticipated Tuesday’s showdown between his Mira Costa girls volleyball team and Mater Dei would be like a heavyweight championship fight.

At the start, the Mustangs jumped ahead on the scorecards winning the first two sets, but midway through the third, it became apparent that the Monarchs were ready to extend the evening.

Mater Dei led 16-9 in the third set.

“I told them we don’t need them all,” Green said of the deficit. “That’s kind of always my message at that point. Sometimes it can feel daunting, we just need a couple and we can start to feel our way back. Then we went on a big run. It was more about not panicking in that moment and knowing that if it’s in the 20s, then you need a lot, but at 16, 17, you feel like you can make a little bit of a run and make think a little bit differently.

“To me that was the biggest key, just staying calm and do what we do.”

The comeback started on a kill by Aubrey Flanagan and soon Flanagan connected again to give Mira Costa its first lead of the set at 18-17 and the sweep was back in the cards. Mira Costa (12-1) would close out the match 25-21, 25-21, 25-19. This is Mira Costa’s fourth consecutive sweep.

The match featured two of the top teams in the state and the nation. In the latest rankings by MaxPreps, Mater Dei was No. 1 and Mira Costa was No. 2. Both teams had recorded impressive tournament wins at out-of-state events with Mira Costa winning the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii and Mater Dei winning the Volleypalooza in Texas.

Mater Dei led 13-9 in the first set, forcing Mira Costa into a timeout. Eventually, Mira Costa caught up at 15-15 and at 19-19. From there, the Mustangs scored four consecutive points, capped by a kill from Simone Roslon and would take the opening set.

Mira Costa had what appeared to be a comfortable lead in the second set, but Mater Dei rallied to get within two at 23-21 on a kill by Cymarah Gordon. Mira Costa’s Charlie Fuerbringer would help calm things and would end the set, putting the Mustangs one set away from the sweep, setting the stage for the wild third set.

“They got in a service run, we got into a rut and got into our heads,” Fuerbringer said of the third set. “We brought it into the huddle and reminded each other, take it slow, take a deep breath, one point at a time and that’s kind of how we got back into the set.

“We didn’t focus on the score, we didn’t focus on the other side, the distractions from the crowd, we just focused on our side of the court, our game and that’s what we played.”

Flanagan finished with 16 kills and Rachel Moglia had 10. Taylor Decker and Chloe Hynes had 22 and 11 digs, respectively.

If this season is anything like last, then this isn’t the only time the Mustangs and Monarchs will face each other. They met three times last season, including in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs.

Last season, the Mustangs advanced to the CIF-SS finals.

“They really enjoy each other,” Green said of this year’s team. “I think that’s the biggest part. There’s no separation, it’s a real cohesive unit and the leadership has the best I could have imagined. Charlie has been a great leader, Chloe (Hynes) and Rachel (Moglia) have both been incredible leaders and everyone has been jumping on board because they want to win.

“Last Friday, we had the day off, they all showed up and wanted to train. I walked into the gym and they’re all serving and passing and they went to lift weights. That to me said everything I needed to know about this group. I was really proud of that. As a coach, that’s a gift. I was happy to give them the day off, but they wanted to work out and that gave me a big message as to how serious they are about having success.”

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