last time

Serving, blocking, passing and hitting.

Mira Costa put it all together over the final three sets of its Bay League boys’ volleyball showdown with Redondo Union on Monday night, prevailing 26-28, 25-13, 25-18, 25-22 to avenge a five-set loss in the teams’ first meeting and stake its claim for the No. 1 seed in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

“Last time we didn’t think they were as good as they were, but we’ve watched a lot of film since then and saw where they like to go,” said outside hitter Mateo Fuerbringer, who finished with a match-high 27 kills and four of his team’s nine aces. “We didn’t pass that well in the first set, but after that we started spreading the ball around more and our serving was really good tonight. We got them out of system a lot.”

Colby Graham had nine kills and three blocks and ended each of the middle sets with a kill as the Mustangs (31-2, 7-1) totaled 15 stuff blocks. Wyatt Davis added eight kills and three blocks and Enzo Barker finished with five kills and two aces.

Redondo Union’s Vaughn Flaherty, left, and JR Boice try to block a hit from Mira Costa’s Colby Graham.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Mira Costa snapped Redondo Union’s 18-match winning streak and evened up the league standings, but the Mustangs gained the tiebreaker by virtue of fewer sets lost head-to-head.

Mira Costa saved three match points in the first set before Mavrick Essert ended it with one of his eight kills for the visiting Sea Hawks (26-3, 7-1). His older brother Cash Essert had 11 kills and JR Boice added 10 but Redondo Union was unable to maintain its momentum, never leading once in the last three sets.

Redondo Union keyed on Fuerbringer to win the first encounter 27-25, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13 on its home court March 26, but Monday’s match was a different story as Mira Costa varied its attack to keep the Sea Hawks on their heels.

“We were gassed the first time because that was right after we played Loyola,” Mustangs setter Jake Newman said. “Loyola took a lot out of us even though we won. So we weren’t prepared for Redondo, but this time around we had two weeks to practice and study their tendencies.”

Mira Costa libero Dane Del Riego returns a serve in a four-set victory over Redondo Union on April 20, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Newman said closing the match in four sets was critical.

“At 24-22 we were telling each other we have to win, we’re not letting this go five,” he said. “We needed to beat them in four for the league championship.”

Mira Costa lost to Corona del Mar in tournament play early in the season but has since defeated the Sea Kings twice. It also has victories over Huntington Beach, Loyola and Newport Harbor — all of which will likely make the highest division.

Redondo Union won its own Varsity Invitational tournament Saturday, rallying to beat Loyola in the finals, and swept Newport Harbor at home March 21.

Coach Greg Snyder praised the Mustangs for executing the game plan to near perfection but warned it may not be the last time they have to face their archrival.

“That’s a really good team we just beat … we could very well see them again the playoffs,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens.”

Natalie Portman is going to have another baby.

The actor is pregnant with her third child, the first with partner Tanguy Destable. The Oscar winner told Harper’s Bazaar that she and Destable, a French music producer who goes by the stage name Tepr, are “very excited.”

“I’m just very grateful,” she told the outlet. “I know it’s such a privilege and a miracle.”

Portman, 44, said that she grew up hearing about how difficult it can be to become pregnant. As the child of a fertility doctor, the actor said she has many loved ones who’ve struggled in their journey and she wants to be considerate and respectful. “I know how lucky it is,” she continued. “I’m very aware, and I’m very grateful. I have deep appreciation and gratitude.”

The “Black Swan” actor has two children from her marriage to ex-husband Benjamin Millepied — a son Aleph, 14, and daughter Amalia, 9 — and told Harper’s that knowing this is “probably the last time,” she is cherishing every moment.

The actor also said she’s been enjoying the spring weather in Paris, where she has lived on and off for years. One other perk of being pregnant in Paris? “In France, they consider full term to be 41 weeks rather than 40, so I guess I get an extra week to be pregnant this time around.”

Portman split from Millepied in 2024 after more than a decade of marriage. The two met on the set of Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film “Black Swan.” Millepied — a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet — served as a choreographer on the movie. In 2023, French outlet Voici claimed Millepied had an extramarital affair with a climate activist. Shortly after, Portman quietly filed for divorce in Paris, where the two lived.

Last year, she told Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on “The Tonight Show” that an unexpected encounter with Rihanna at Paris Fashion Week in 2024 helped get her through the split.

“I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a bad b—,” she joked to Fallon. “It was exactly what I needed.”

Fallon played a clip of the actor’s exchange with the “Diamonds” hitmaker in which Rihanna hugs Portman and says, “You are one of the hottest b— in Hollywood forever.”

Portman replies, “Excuse me? I’m going to faint.”

Portman has been romantically linked to Destable since March 2025.

With just over five minutes left in UCLA’s first-round win over California Baptist on Saturday, freshman Sienna Betts took a shot. She missed. She grabbed the rebound. She missed again. Then, she put it in the basket.

On the bench, her older sister, Lauren Betts, was laughing. No. 1 seed UCLA was up big late, the Bruins were going to advance and Lauren was getting joy from seeing her sister succeed — and fail.

“I’m like, Sienna, just make the shot, and she’s laughing; she’s not serious,” Lauren said.

The sisters recorded double-doubles during the 96-43 win that secured the Bruins a second-round date with Oklahoma State. Sienna had 10 points and 12 rebounds, six of them offensive, and Lauren had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

UCLA freshman forward Sienna Betts plays tight defense on California Baptist guard Sofia Alonso during the Bruins’ first round NCAA tournament win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“She is so hard on herself and she’s so driven, I think her humor is actually a saving grace for her,” UCLA coach Cori Close said of Sienna. “It’s sort of a light moment. It’s laughter. Because when she’s not smiling and bringing joy, she’s usually beating herself up for a mistake. As she continues to grow in that, I hope it doesn’t have to be her escape, but I just have absolutely enjoyed Sienna so much.”

The sisters have only this season to play together before Lauren, a senior, graduates. They played just one season together in high school in Colorado, and this season might be the last time they are ever on the same team.

“It’s this weird thing, on the one hand, I want them to enjoy this connection they have,” Close said. “I want them to enjoy this year. They will look back on this year and just really treasure it.

“Simultaneously, I want to especially treat Sienna on her own journey, and to not make her feel like she’s in the shadows of anything that Lauren is doing.”

Sisters have posted double-doubles in the NCAA tournament before. At Stanford, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike did it multiple times in the early 2010s. In the 1980s, USC twins Pamela and Paula McGee averaged double-double their senior years.

But it’s a rarity, and one that could only happen this season for the UCLA sisters.

Sienna, though, didn’t want to make a big deal of it. Sitting to the side in the locker room after the win over California Baptist, she was critical of her own game, just the way Close expected.

“I’m trying to focus more on just that game and just taking what we can learn from our mistakes in the first half, especially, and trying to move on,” Sienna said. “But, I mean, I think in an hour, I’ll take that in and be more excited about that.”

Lauren said she thought Sienna played one of her better games of the season.

“Honestly, besides her scoring, I thought her defense was a lot better today and I know that’s something she wanted to get better at,” Lauren said Saturday. “She was just really proud of her slides. Like she didn’t say anything about her points. She was like, I’m so glad that I can guard them. I worked so hard on that.”

Sienna has had back-to-back strong efforts, with 14 points against Iowa in the Big Ten tournament championship game two weeks ago. She has done so without being hounded by her big sister.

“I think [Lauren] respects my boundary to figure it out on my own,” she said.

Lauren, meanwhile, has averaged 16.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest this season. The projected WNBA lottery pick is considered one of the best centers in the nation.

UCLA center Lauren Betts drives to the basket under pressure from California Baptist forward Grace Schmidt during the NCAA tournament on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I love the moments you catch when they have a connection and an eye contact or a smile that is different than everybody else because they are sharing it as sisters and I just think how special that is,” Close said. “That’s so wonderful.”

Charlisse Leger-Walker played with her sister, Krystal Leger-Walker, at Washington State for two seasons. There, the duo shared time in the backcourt for an up-and-coming Cougars squad.

“It’s just a different connection,” Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “Out there, you have someone who is your blood and unconditional love and support. And it’s just awesome to be able to see [Lauren and Sienna] in their journey, and have so much success early.”

Sienna will carry the torch for the Bruins beyond this season when the majority of the veteran roster graduates and many go pro.

That’s when she could be the face of the program on her own. But first, she is working to extend an NCAA tournament run alongside her sister.

“I want Sienna to feel like she’s Sienna,” Close said. “She’s not Lauren’s sister. She can enjoy that, but for our team, she’s Sienna Betts.”

CHICAGO — This was hardly a masterpiece of Big Ten basketball, what with the barrage of bricks and busted possessions. Nor was it the sort of night to convince you of UCLA’s chances as a surefire conference contender.

But amid the mess of its 72-59 win over 14th-seeded Rutgers on Thursday night, UCLA showed the sort of mettle it may need to keep its season kicking this March.

It started with Donovan Dent, whose masterful month continued with his first career triple-double — and the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history. The senior tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He and Tyler Bilodeau, who added a game-high 21 points, were the rare bright spots on offense for the Bruins.

Otherwise, UCLA struggled to find any sort of rhythm. It shot just 38% from the floor, worse than it had in any win this season. And still, the Bruins were in control for most of the game after pulling away early in the second half.

None of that will fly against No. 3 seed Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT, which beat UCLA by 23 points the last time they met.

But until Thursday it’d been quite some time since UCLA actually managed to win away from home. Not since Jan. 29 had it won outside of L.A., and only once this season had it won outside of the Pacific time zone.

For a while, it didn’t seem like UCLA intended to win Thursday, either. Even as Rutgers gave it every chance to pull away.

The Bruins did shut down Rutgers’ Tariq Francis, who was fresh off a 29-point performance in a first-round win over Minnesota. Francis didn’t score until the nine-minute mark in the second half. He finished with six points on two-of-11 shooting.

The two teams spent most of the first half trading wasted possessions and taking turns with their respective shooting slumps. Four minutes scoreless for Rutgers. Three scoreless for UCLA. Four scoreless for Rutgers. Then three scoreless for UCLA. Back and forth they went in their futility.

The Bruins had plenty of chances to build a lead early. While Rutgers struggled to find rhythm on offense, settling mostly for contested shots inside the arc, UCLA got its share of open shots all around the floor. It just wasn’t able to hit many of them. Both teams shot a meager 31% before halftime.

Those shots fell more frequently in the second half, as UCLA pushed its lead to 15. The Bruins still struggled to put the Knights away, until Dent took matters into his own hands late, pushing UCLA to victory.