Boys volleyball: Sea Kings come up short

Barry Faulkner

IRVINE - Coaches obviously prefer to find motivation elsewhere. But

Northwood High handed the bitter taste of CIF Southern Section Division

IV semifinal defeat, which the Timberwolves drew upon all season, over to

visiting Corona del Mar Wednesday, in the form of a 15-7, 15-5, 15-4 boys

volleyball blowout at Irvine High.

The victory vindicated the senior-dominated T-wolves, who vowed not to

repeat the hollow feeling that came with a semifinal setback last season.

“We sat in that same room (at Irvine High) last year, after losing to

Santa Ynez and we didn’t care for that feeling at all,” Northwood Coach

John Gaido recalled. “This year, we vowed to work hard to make sure it

didn’t happen again. It was the finals or bust.”

Playing in the final had become almost second nature to CdM (14-8) and

Coach Steve Conti, who guided his last five Sea King squads to a section

title match.

But, with a largely inexperienced cast that finished third in the

Pacific Coast League, behind Northwood (24-1) and Laguna Beach, CdM will

likely look back with pride upon a strong postseason run.

“(The Sea Kings) have the tradition and I liked what I saw on the

other side of the net. They may be the ones we have to look our for next

year,” Gaido said.”Having seniors who have played a lot together is a big

deal,” Conti said of No. 2-seeded Northwood’s all-senior starting lineup.

“Those guys have been playing together since they were freshmen at Irvine

(before Northwood opened), and they played like it tonight.”

Conti said the loss may serve to motivate his returning players, as it

did Northwood’s.

“Maybe missing the finals this year will make our guys want it more

next year,” Conti said. “I think Northwood had a pretty good hunger to

get past the semifinals this year.”

CdM’s returning cast will include 6-foot-6 middle blocker Eric Jones,

who continued his strong postseason progress with, perhaps, his best

match of the season.

Cashing in on half of senior Spencer Miller’s 28 assists, Jones

pounded a match-high 14 kills, many in imposing fashion.

Senior middle blocker Ryan Inman, who also sparkled in the playoffs,

added 10 kills and five stuff blocks to provide the visitors’ only

additional hitting threat.

“Ryan and Eric have both come a long way this year and they’ve both

had the hot hand lately,” Conti said. “Eric is a guy who just figured out

the flow of the game about the last three or four weeks.”

Conti credited Northwood with helping stifle the Sea Kings’ outside

attack.

“That’s one of the better defenses at the net that we’ve faced,” Conti

said of a team that swept the Sea Kings in both league matches. “They

didn’t block as well as they did tonight (11 stuff blocks, including six

by 6-1 Gabe Schneider) in our first two matches.”

Schneider also added 10 kills, as did senior middle blocker Justin

Stewart. Touted outside hitters Brandon Mel and Dan Profeta posted 11 and

nine kills, respectively.

CdM trailed, 8-0, before rallying to extend the opening game. The Sea

Kings then earned their only lead of the second game at 1-0.

The visitors scored the first three points of the final game and led,

4-3, before succumbing to the more powerful hosts, who extended their

winning streak to 16 matches.