Bagwell an ace for Mustangs

Although senior Ryan Bagwell is probably the Costa Mesa High boys’ volleyball team’s most powerful outside hitter, it may not even be the thing he’s best at on the volleyball court. Bagwell has a tricky jump serve that he delivers with all kinds of motion and velocity.

At one point during the second game of Costa Mesa’s match against Ocean View last Wednesday, Bagwell tallied seven consecutive service aces. In the process, he turned a close game into a lopsided victory by finding the corners with his low, whispering serves. He finished with 10 aces in the sweep over the Seahawks.

After the match, Ocean View Coach Jimmy Harris said that Bagwell is one of the best jump-servers he’s seen. Los Alamitos would probably agree. Bagwell had 12 aces against the Griffins earlier this season in a nonleague match.

“He’s a pretty dominant server,” Costa Mesa Coach Chris Komer said.

Bagwell has even surprised himself with his success serving the ball this season.

“I’ve never heard of that before,” Bagwell said. “When guys are serving well, you see them get five or six aces, but 10 and 12? That’s crazy.”

Bagwell has been jump serving since his freshman year, but he’s never been as effective with it as he’s been this season. He said he hasn’t worked any harder on perfecting his serve ? it just happened with repetition over the years.

Another unique aspect of Bagwell’s game is that, as a left-handed hitter, he plays on the left side of the court, which means when he takes passes and goes up to hit, the ball has to cross his body before he swings. Normally, left-handers play the right side in volleyball so the ball doesn’t have to cross their body before they swing.

“It’s kind of unusual,” Komer said. “It makes it tough on blockers because they are not used to seeing a left-handed hitter on that side. Plus, Ryan has really good jumping and hitting ability.”

Bagwell has been playing on the left side for a couple of years now, so it seems natural to him.

“At first, it was a little awkward, but it’s pretty much second nature now,” Bagwell said. “I hit just as well from either side.”

Bagwell followed up his 10-ace performance on Wednesday with 13 kills Friday in a victory over Villa Park.

Bagwell, who plans to continue his volleyball career at Orange Coast College next year, has had to take on an even bigger role than normal lately. The Mustangs have been without starting setter Andrew Melcer (mononucleosis) and starting senior outside hitter Will Lefebvre (broken finger).

But it hasn’t kept the Mustangs from staying unbeaten heading into today’s showdown with No. 3-ranked Estancia. Not only is it a rivalry match, it has league-title implications.

Costa Mesa is undefeated in the Golden West League and Estancia has just one loss, which came at the hands of the Mustangs.

“We’re a little sketchy going into the match with two guys out, but so far, everyone has stepped up,” Bagwell said. “I can’t wait.”