San Marcos girls beach volleyball coach Tim Loomer started to get emotional as he talked about his Royals and his daughter Cora after their team season came to an end on Wednesday in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals against No. 1 Mira Costa.
Despite a 5-0 score, the Royals went down swinging against the top team in the state. Cora Loomer and partner Evyn Miller lost an extended three-set battle at the No. 1 court and the matches at Nos. 3 and 5 were close.
In the end, the senior-laden Royals finished with the winningest season in program history at 25-3; two of three losses coming against Mira Costa and the other against No. 2 Redondo.
“As I have gotten older, I have become more emotional,” said Loomer. “I like to think it is because I recognize the importance of moments in our lives and I am so appreciative of sharing them with others and am happy when people live the moments well.
“I am so happy with the way the girls represented San Marcos High School, their parents and family, and our Santa Barbara Community. Over the years so many people here in town have participated in the training, coaching, encouraging, and providing that got the girls and team to the match today. The success they have had this year is truly a shared success.”
The battle at the No. 1 court was an epic between four Division 1 college beach volleyball commits: Loomer bound for UCLA, Miller going to San Jose State and Mira Costa’s Ruby Cochrane and Olga Nikolaeva headed to Stanford. They went back and forth for three sets, with two of them going into overtime. Cochrane/Nikolaeva prevailed 19-21, 24-22, 19-17.
In the first, set Loomer/Miller rallied from a 19-15 deficit. An ace serve by Loomer tied the score at 19 and another tough serve forced a Mira Costa error to put the Royals into the lead. Loomer capped the comeback with a block.
The teams traded leads throughout the second set. A serving error by Mira Costa gave Loomer/Miller their last lead at 22-21. Cochrane put the ball away on two to even the score and the Mustangs capitalized on a San Marcos hitting error to take a 23-22 lead. A net violation on the next play gave them the win.
The see-saw fight continued in the deciding set. Mira Costa was serving for the match at 15-14 but committed an error to keep the Royals alive.
The Mustangs got to match point again on a San Marcos service error, but Loomer/Miller sided out on a Loomer kill. She then blocked for a point to put the Royals at match point, 17-16.
On the next rally, Cochrane hit looping shot down the line. The ball was so close to the line. The San Marcos players thought it was out and they won the match. Mira Costa questioned the call and ended up winning the point to tie the score.
“The shot Mira Costa made was incredibly close to the line,” said Loomer. “I personally thought it was in. Several people said they have video evidence that it was out. At the end of the day, the decision was that the ball landed in, Mira Costa received the point, and play continued.
“That type of outcome is part of sports and something that athletes and fans have to deal with regularly. My hope is that these types of things do not overshadow or detract from the skill and play of both teams.”
Mira Costa received a boost from the call. Cochane followed with block of a San Marcos attack for an 18-17 lead. The teams rallied on the next play and Nikolaeva ended it with a one-over dig of Loomer’s shot to the deep court.
At the No. 2 spot, Royals Char Hastings/Paige Hoadley led 12-9 before Mira Costa caught fire and pulled off a 21-18 win in the first set. The Mustangs kept the momentum and won the second 21-11.
At No. 5, Rio Chesluk/Malia Hetrick lost two tight sets, 21-18, 21-18.
“They competed fiercely,” said coach Loomer.
Mira Costa won the threes over Reese Paskin/Kelsey Rowe 21-11, 21-10 and took the fours against Lila Westmacott/Isla McClintock 21-12, 21-15.
“Losing is never fun or easy and it at times comes with controversy, especially when scores are very close and games are extended into overtime,” said Loomer. “Mira Costa is the number one team in CIF for a reason. Our team was playing against D1 commits at every line — all the way through the fives. We simply don’t have that same level of skill and experience.
“Knowing this would be the case, we worked to prepare the girls to play their best, to play aggressively and to play each point regardless of the outcome of the previous point. I felt like we did that in stretches today across all five of the lines. So, I was satisfied, pleased even with our performance and very excited to be a part of a team that went 24-3 on the season and played in the Division I CIF semifinal match.”
