Corona del Mar boys’ volleyball sweeps Beckman

With five players committed to play in college, the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team boasts the elite depth necessary to defend the Pacific Coast League title.

This trait was at the forefront of the Sea Kings’ 25-11, 25-16, 25-20 league sweep against visiting Beckman on Friday.

The Sea Kings (13-3, 2-0 in league) rattled off run after run. Among the stars for the No. 5-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll were a pair of seniors in 6-foot-6 middle blocker Tyler Flood (five kills and five block assists) and 6-5 opposite Kevin Kobrine (nine kills), who helped lead a dominant effort defending the net.

Now, the veteran-laden squad will aim to carry this momentum forward into the heart of league play.

“We’re ... one step closer to the [program’s 16th straight] league championship,” Flood said. “We’re building momentum for the bigger matches we have down the stretch in May.”

After falling behind 2-0 early in the first set, the UCLA-bound Kobrine answered back with two consecutive kills followed by a block to spark a 7-1 run. Flood, who is headed to New York University, had two blocks of his own during this span, with his younger brother, Adam, a USC commit, delivering a kill as well.

Although early in the contest, the momentum shift was pivotal, and ultimately set the tone for the rest of the match. CdM would not trail again until the third set, winning the first two sets by a combined 23 points.

“Tyler and the rest of the team did a good job with our blocking assignments, trying to get two-on-one with what we thought were their best attackers,” CdM coach Steve Conti said. “That’s what we did in that first set and a half. It might have been our best set and a half of blocking so far.”

For Beckman, ranked No. 10, the showing provided a wake-up call. The Patriots strung together more than two consecutive points just twice, with both runs occurring with the second set well out of reach.

With a daunting league schedule ahead, developing consistency will be critical.

“This is match No. 27 for us, so we’d hope to be further along by now,” said Beckman coach Darin McBain, whose team dropped to 2-1 in league. “I think we get complacent, because even we look at our record and say, ‘Oh, we’re 22-5.’ We’re not that good. Our league is difficult. We’re going to have four or five more tough matches, so we have to get better.”

Despite a convincing win, the Sea Kings were not satisfied with how they closed out the match.

Following a 9-0 run that gave them a 19-5 lead in the second set, the team appeared to enter cruise control. Beckman would proceed to score 31 of the match’s final 62 points after being thoroughly outmatched early.

While it did not cost CdM on Friday, Conti fully recognizes the danger of getting too comfortable in any match.

“It might be an overconfidence thing,” Conti said. “We have another good team this year, but it’s not a sport that has a clock where any lead is ever too big. It’s unlikely a team is going to come back from down 24-10, but there’s never too big of a lead where we should ever feel comfortable. I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in my 31 years coaching to know that you have to finish. Don’t smile and don’t relax until you are shaking hands at the end.”

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell