Girls’ Volleyball: CdM starts with sweep
Early on at Corona del Mar High on Tuesday, there was a delay in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA girls’ volleyball match.
One of the referees gave Garden Serra a heads up on who was supposed to serve next. The Cavaliers disagreed, forcing the refs to stop the action in the opening set.
The Sea Kings waited for the outcome, and once it was settled, they went back to work. Serra slowed down the match, but not CdM, which swept, 25-9, 25-18, 25-11, and advanced to the second round.
“I thought we did a good job of staying focused throughout the match,” Sea Kings Coach Steve Astor said. “There was kind of a long delay in Game 1, which happens sometimes. [My players] did a good job of being sharp after that long delay.”
Astor’s Sea Kings (23-5) will have to be on top of their game on Thursday, when they face La Cañada Flintridge Sacred Heart (26-6). A coin flip on Wednesday morning will determine the site where the No. 7- and No. 8-ranked teams in the final Division 1AA poll will meet.
Flintridge Sacred Heart swept its opening-round match at home against Palos Verdes, 25-9, 25-14, 25-14. Astor has seen CdM’s next opponent play recently. While the Sea Kings were at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions on Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Flintridge Sacred Heart also competed.
“They’re a good team,” Astor said of the Tologs. “They come from a really good [Mission League] with [the likes of [Los Angeles] Marymount, Notre Dame Sherman Oaks and [Studio City] Harvard-Westlake. You finish second in that league you’re pretty good.”
The competition is more robust than what CdM saw in Pacific Coast League play. Nevertheless, the Sea Kings, who finished perfect in league, went up against upper-echelon programs early in nonleague action, defeating Mater Dei and Marymount, who are now the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in the playoffs, and losing to Temecula Great Oak, ranked No. 6 in the final poll, at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
Out of CdM’s five setbacks this year, three have come against teams outside of Southern California, losing to Hillcrest of Simpsonville, S.C., and Marist of Chicago at the Mother McAuley ASICS Challenge, and Moraga Campolindo at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. Those are three of the best programs in the country.
Serra (17-14) wasn’t on that level. The third-place team from the Del Rey League struggled with CdM’s serve. Katie Craig and Payton Carter each produced three service aces in the first set, and CdM finished with nine aces in Game 1.
Craig led the Sea Kings with eight kills, and Jessie Harris and Natalia Bruening added six kills apiece. Carter had nine digs and Samantha Jones recorded three blocks.
“By the time you get to the second round, you’re playing a really good team,” said Astor, whose team reached the quarterfinals last year in his first season in charge of CdM. “[Playoff] seedings don’t mean a whole lot.
“I think we’re a better team than we were last year for sure. I think we have a chance to go farther with the style of play we have. We serve pretty tough. Any time you serve tough, it’s a great equalizer, always gives you a chance, no matter who you’re playing.”