Mira Costa CA arrived at the Ann Kang Invitational hosted by ‘Iolani in Honolulu as the defending champion and ranked No. 4 overall in vballrecruiter.com’s initial Top 50 National High School Rankings. However, if the Mustangs were going to head back to the mainland with their eighth overall Ann Kang title, they were served an early reminder that it wasn’t going to come easy.

With 5-star Wisconsin commit Charlie Fuerbringer (S/RS) playing with the USAV U19 squad, the Mustangs were short-handed and left without their best player and leader. It looked like that could lead to a real struggle for Mira Costa, which was upended by Punahou HI in its first outing on Thursday morning.

However, the setback didn’t derail the team’s hopes, as Mira Costa didn’t blink and instead responded by running the table from there, including handing national No. 8 Cornerstone Christian TX its only loss with a three-set victory, 16-25, 25-19, 15-11, in the championship match Saturday evening.

It was an impressive feat not only because Fuerbringer was missing from the trip, but because those the Mustangs needed to rely on were underclassmen who needed to help the cause and they all stepped up in admirable fashion. Five-star outside Audrey Flanagan, 4-star setter Milly McGee and 3-star outside Simone Roslon are all sophomores who contributed in key roles to back the play of the upperclassmen. Flanagan was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Junior libero Taylor Deckert – a 5-star USC commit – and senior right side Chloe Hynes also made the All-Tournament Team. Senior setter Hayden Lin, senior right side Nora Williams and senior middles Bryn Shankle and Rachel Moglia filled out the lineup that lifted the Mustangs to their nation-leading eighth Ann Kang championship and a comeback victory over Cornerstone Christian.

The two programs weren’t totally unfamiliar with one another. The sides met in the championship match of the Nike TOC Southwest tournament last October, with Cornerstone pulling out a three-set victory in that one. Though Cornerstone graduated three key pieces, the Warriors remain formidable with 5-star junior outside Megan Fitch (Texas AM) and 4-star senior right side Grace Carroll (Baylor) still in the mix.

Mira Costa entered as the top overall seed, but it was Cornerstone which was looking like the favorite heading into the championship clash. The Warriors had dropped just one set through seven pool matches and its semifinals victory over Los Alamitos CA. That came in a three-set victory over national No. 17 Sierra Canyon CA to close out Thursday’s action for the Warriors.

Cornerstone came out hot in the opening set against Mira Costa, racing to a 12-5 cushion and never looking back. However, the Mustangs were not ready to enjoy the rest of their time on the island without first putting up a fight, turning the tide and pulling away down the stretch of Game 2 to force a decisive game to 15. Once more, Mira Costa outplayed the Warriors in the clutch, leading to a joyous celebration after Hynes put away the final point with a cross-court kill from the left side.

Mira Costa reached the four-team championship bracket only after narrowly getting past Lovejoy TX in three, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10, earlier in the day. It was a must-win contest for Mira Costa, which ended in a three-way tie for first in Pool A with Los Al and Punahou. Punahou was eliminated from contention based on tiebreakers. It was Los Al which handed fifth-place Punahou its only loss of the tournament. That victory proved key for Los Al, which ended tied for third after being swept by Cornerstone in the semifinals.

Before getting a shot at Cornerstone in the final, Mira Costa needed to get past Sierra Canyon in its semifinal. The two schools had their recent history from last year’s encounters at the event. First with Sierra Canyon beating Mira Costa to close out pool play in a memorable match that saw the third set to 15 go Sierra Canyon’s way at 25-23! However, Mira Costa delivered payback by sweeping the Trailblazers when they met again in the final. Mira Costa’s swept Saturday’s contest, 25-23, 25-21.

It won’t be the only time this season Mira Costa, Cornerstone and Sierra Canyon are at the same tournament. All three are set to participate in the 64-team Durango Fall Classic next month in Las Vegas, as well as sixth-place finisher Huntington Beach CA.