It was high school volleyball at its finest.
“Absolutely incredible!”
That’s how Mira Costa boys’ volleyball coach Greg Snyder described his team’s performance Friday night following the latest chapter in a fierce rivalry between two of the top programs in the nation.
The visiting Mustangs (20-1) took command early and never let up, sweeping Loyola 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 to establish themselves as the favorites to win the Southern Section’s highest division.
Leading the way was Grand Canyon commit Thatcher Fahlbusch, a senior whose 12 kills came when his squad needed them most. The Mustangs avenged a loss in the finals of the Best of the West Tournament in San Diego two weeks ago — and ended a nightmarish losing streak against the Cubs.
Mira Costa senior outside hitter Thatcher Fahlbusch celebrates after recording one of his 12 kills against Loyola on Friday night.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“We served much better and got them out of system,” said Fahlbusch, whose younger brother Blake, a USC commit, was weakened by the flu but still had five kills for Loyola. “Our main strength is in numbers — they can’t key on one guy. We’d lost 11 in a row to them so we wanted to put an end to that.”
Despite living in Manhattan Beach, the brothers decided when Thatcher was in eighth grade to go to Loyola, but he transferred after his sophomore year. He’s glad he made the switch — and so are his teammates.
“It’s all love,” Thatcher said. “This is an awesome environment to play in.”
Adding 12 kills, the last coming on the Mustangs’ third match point, was Mateo Fuerbringer, whose sister Charlie was a setter for Mira Costa and completed her freshman season at Wisconsin in December.
Setter Andrew Chapin had 40 assists, UCLA commit Grayson Bradford (a senior transfer from Crespi) had 11 kills, and Alex Heins added seven kills and four blocks for the Mustangs, who had last beaten Loyola in the SoCal Regional Division I finals on June 12, 2021.
“We wanted to win so bad,” Bradford said. “We brought the energy and we have so much trust in each other. No matter who it is, we believe we can put any ball away.”
Loyola students cheer on the Loyola boys volleyball team during a match against Mira Costa on March 21, 2025.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Loyola defeated Mira Costa three times last spring — winning the schools’ annual nonleague showdown, then sweeping the Mustangs in the Southern Section Division 1 finals and SoCal Regional finals — on its way to being crowned USA Today/AVCA national champion for a second straight season and the fourth time in school history.
Snyder, who took the helm last season and guided Mira Costa to a 37-5 record, the Best of the West title and the Bay League championship, took a few moments to savor his first victory over Loyola and knows the rivals likely will meet again in the playoffs.
The teams have met for the section title four times, Loyola winning in four sets in 2005 and 2010 and in three sets in 2024. Mira Costa prevailed in five sets in 2012. The Mustangs won the last of their eight section titles in 2021, sweeping Newport Harbor in the finals under previous coach Avery Drost.
“We haven’t been healthy all week, but take nothing away from them,” said Cubs coach Mike Boehle, who has piloted his alma mater to seven section titles since taking over in 1999. “It’s been four years since they beat us and they played out of their minds.”
Nate Garrett led the way with nine kills and Simon Capps added seven for Loyola (12-3). Blue-and-white-clad supporters in the student section waved flags and chanted “Let’s go Cubs!” during introductions, but Mira Costa fans countered with “We can’t hear you!” in a timeout with their team holding a comfortable lead midway through the second set.
