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Mira Costa boys volleyball overwhelms Huntington Beach in Division 1 semifinals

May 10, 2026

HUNTINGTON BEACH — In the CIF-SS Division 1 boys volleyball semifinals, Huntington Beach had the daunting task of going up against the No. 1 team in the nation led by one of the best players in the nation.

Huntington Beach battled in the first two sets but wound up being swept by Mira Costa and outside hitter Mateo Fuerbringer, who played a near-perfect match in the 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 victory over Saturday at Huntington Beach High School.

The Mustangs (32-2) advance to their third consecutive Division 1 final.

Fuerbringer, a junior who is committed to UCLA, scored from both ends of the net, the center of the net and from the back row during the match. He finished with a game-high 26 kills, including 13 in the first set.

The Oilers (22-5) had the lead for most of the first set until a kill from Fuerbringer tied the score and then a kill from Wyatt Davis gave the Mustangs a 20-19 lead.

Huntington Beach got within two points in the set before Fuerbringer delivered a middle kill for the final point.

“I think we needed to win that first set,” Oilers coach Craig Pazanti said. “We’ve always talked from day one about winning the first touch, win the serve and pass battle. And we definitely didn’t win the serve and pass battle all night, but specifically in that moment.

“If we could have won that first set, it changes the narrative of the match completely.”

Pazanti was generally pleased with several aspects of his team’s performance.

The Oilers passed well but couldn’t convert when opportunities presented themselves.

“We dialed the rotation,” Pazanti said. “We flip-flopped our outside hitters. They just were getting hands over the net.”

Collin Choi led the Oilers with 12 kills and teammate Carter Tchaikovsky had 11 assists and three aces.

Huntington Beach fell behind early in the second set but continued to keep the set close before Fruerbringer’s kill gave the Mustangs a 16-11 lead.

Tchaikovsky served an ace later in the set to get Huntington Beach within four at 21-17, but the Oilers couldn’t get any closer.

Mira Costa led 8-4 in the third set when Choi scored on a kill, served an ace and then got another kill to get the Oilers within a point.

Then four kills from Fuerbringer, blocks from Miles Crotty and Colby Grahm and a kill from Crotty lifted Mira Costa to a 19-10 lead.

Mustangs went on a 6-3 run to close out the set and the match.

By reaching the CIF-SS semifinals, the Oilers qualified for the CIF State Championships.

“Bottom line is that we ran into a little bit of a buzzsaw,” Pazanti said. “We’ll take a few days off. We’ll try to get our guys healthy and see if we can come back and put a little push here.”

Orange County Register

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Mira Costa boys volleyball overwhelms Huntington Beach in Division 1 semifinals

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