Mesa eyes CIF

Rick Devereux

Costa Mesa High junior Ryan Bagwell hopes to continue where he left

off last year for the Mustang boys volleyball team.

Bagwell had a season-high 21 digs along with team highs in kills

(15), blocks (six) and service aces (five) as Mesa defeated Golden

West League foe Santa Ana in the Mustangs’ season finale.

Unfortunately for Bagwell and the Costa Mesa faithful, the 9-11

record and fifth-place league finish was not enough to secure a berth

into the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs.

The main positive for the Mustangs is that only three players were

lost to graduation while six have returned to build upon the

foundation laid last year.

“Our biggest strength right now is that we have got a lot of

pretty good players,” fifth-year Coach Dave Sorrells said. “We have

depth and some good experience.”

The main returnee is Bagwell, who will move from right-side to

left-side outside hitter.

“Bagwell will have a break out season,” Sorrells said. “I fully

expect him to be one of the best players in this part of county.”

Bagwell and senior middle blocker Garrett Walther were first-team

all-league selections last year and will be expected to help lead

Mesa to the next step in the program’s development by securing a

playoff berth.

“I’m real pleased with where we are,” Sorrells said. “This team

could be very good, but it all depends on how disciplined and how

mature they act on the court. I am doing everything I can, but it is

still up to them on how good they want to be.”

One player in particular Sorrells is counting on is junior setter

Andrew Melcer. Melcer was a second-team all-league selection last

year and should be even better with another year under his belt.

“Melcer is still maturing,” Sorrells said. “He still has a ways to

go, but I’m trying convince him that he can be a great setter, it’s

just a question of his maturity and his consistency.”

Listed at 5-6, Melcer is not the tallest setter in the world, but

that doesn’t worry Sorrells.

“I’m not concerned about his height. I’m only concerned about his

setting and his defense,” Sorrells said. “I put a lot of pressure on

Melcer, but if he can become more consistent and more mature, I think

he can be a great setter and a great player.”

Having Bagwell and Walthers as weapons will make any setter

better, but those aren’t the only threats opponents will need to look

out for.

Middle blocker Mitch Caldwell is an athletic who has the ability

to change the momentum of a match by crushing the ball on offense.

“He was the junior varsity MVP last year,” Sorrells said. “He is

the most improved player in the program. He is a good athlete who

jumps well. He is starting to develop nice skills. He is still raw

but coming on strong.”

Trevor Smith is a second-year varsity performer at outside hitter

and is expected to start as a junior.

Sorrells is also getting four players from the varsity basketball

squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section

Division III-A playoffs.

Ryan French, Will Lefebvre, Tony Krikorian and Scott Knox are all

expected to help bring a winning attitude to Costa Mesa.

French and Lefebvre were in the volleyball program last year,

while Kirkorian played as freshman but stayed away from volleyball

last spring. Knox has never played volleyball before.

“One thing that I liked from the basketball team was that they

played tough defense,” Sorrells said. “I that knew these guys coming

from basketball were going to be competitive. That’s the value of

playing other sports.”

French is an outside hitter and Lefebvre, the tallest player on

the volleyball team at 6-4, will see action at middle and on the

outside.

Krikorian is a defensive specialist and Knox is steadily improving

as an outside hitter.

Mick Mietten will join Krikorian as a defensive specialist.

Amir Salout, the only other senior on the team besides Walthers,

is the backup setter and could see time as a defensive specialist.

Sorrells likes the junior-dominated group, if not a little worried

of their collectively young age.

“Every one of them is a great kid,” Sorrells said. “At times our

maturity is at question, but I think we’ve got something going here.

I’m certain we will have a winning season. How good we’re going to be

is entirely up to the type of commitment these kids want to give.”