The Mission Bay girls volleyball team advanced to the CIF quarterfinals after its first-round straight-sets victory over West Hills in front of the home crowd on Tuesday night. The first set was the most competitive of the three with Mission Bay coming out on top 25-21 with the next two sets ending with the same 25-20 scoreline.
“The entire team worked together on offense and defense, and was energized by a great home crowd in the Mission Bay gym,” said head coach Barbara Birnbaum.
The Bucs had 46 team digs, led by junior Justyne Higman with 13, and junior Marissa Toliver with 10. The offense was led and distributed by two setters: senior Simone Hekier and junior Ayla McCay, with 10 and 11 assists, respectively. The team’s offense was spread out among many hitters throughout the season, but on Tuesday was led by senior middle blocker Abbie Crosbie with eight kills, followed by Annika Wester with five, and Marissa Toliver with four. The team also served 12 aces, led by Higman and Toliver, with four aces each.
“The team’s offense was spread out among many hitters throughout the season,” Birnbaum added.
The last time the two sides met was during regular season play on Sept. 17 with Mission Bay coming out with a win. The Bucs also finished the regular season as tri-champions in City League play after tying for first place alongside Clairemont, and Canyon Hills High School.
Mission Bay will face off against Foothills Christian on Friday, Oct. 28 for the CIF Division III quarterfinals and will look to avenge the 3-1 loss suffered to the team from El Cajon back on Sept. 12. The Bucs finished the regular season with a 21-14 record (6-2 in league). Foothills Christian finished 21-5 while being crowned champion of its league with an 11-1 record.
Mission Bay started off the season with back-to-back wins before suffering its first loss to Ramona on Sept. 19. Mission Bay’s longest winning streak spanned seven games starting on Sept. 24 against High Tech through its victory over Morse on Oct. 6.
