North girls, South boys win O.C. All-Star volleyball matches
Delaney DeCinces and Vivian Donovan said they did not think they would play volleyball again in the Newport Harbor High gym.
More than six months after the conclusion of the girls’ volleyball season, the Sailors seniors got another chance Friday night. Both were on the North roster as part of the 41st Dave Mohs Memorial Orange County High School Volleyball All-Star festivities.
DeCinces and Donovan both contributed late. DeCinces served the final two points of the girls’ match, while Donovan and Courtney Buzzerio of Orange Lutheran teamed up for two straight blocks to end it as the North prevailed, 25-23, 20-25, 17-15 at Newport Harbor.
The boys’ match that followed also went the distance. Corona del Mar senior Brandon Browning earned MVP honors with nine kills as the South beat the North 25-20, 25-27, 15-13.
Donovan provided the blocks late for the North girls, who also featured DeCinces, a setter bound for Georgia Southern. Other locals on the winning North team included Huntington Beach outside hitter Bailey Nelson (bound for Jacksonville State) and Oilers opposite Jillian Kim (Sacred Heart University). Kim contributed a pair of kills.
El Dorado outside hitter Carly Moreno, bound for Boise State, had nine kills and earned match MVP honors.
“It felt really good,” said Donovan, who had four block assists and a solo block, of her final two stuffs. “I haven’t played middle in a while. I’m playing outside [hitter] in college [at Manhattan College in New York], so it felt good.”
CdM girls’ volleyball coach Steve Astor guided the South squad, which featured setter Ashley Humphreys (USC) and outside hitter Christina Davenport (Cal). Humphreys led the South with six kills, while Davenport had five along with three aces.
Edison middle blocker Kristin Austin had two kills and a block assist for the South, which also got a service ace from Edison setter Lindsey Sparks, headed to UCLA for beach volleyball.
The South had match points at 14-13 and 15-14 in the third set before the North rallied. Still, Astor said coaching Humphreys and Davenport one last time was special.
“It’s a treat for me,” Astor said. “These girls have done so much for our program. My first summer when I got hired [in 2013], they were going to my junior high camp [as incoming eighth-graders]. It’s kind of cool that I can coach their first and their last high school match. They both played really well tonight too.”
The USC-bound Browning led a whopping six CdM players on the South boys’ roster. It also included UCLA-bound opposite Kevin Kobrine, and middle blocker Brandon Hicks and setter Patrick Paragas, both headed to UC Santa Barbara. CdM libero Diego Perez (Orange Coast College) and middle blocker Tyler Flood (New York University) also contributed.
Kobrine delivered six kills and three block assists, while Hicks had four block assists. Laguna Beach’s Sam Burgi, bound for UCLA, was also on the South team and had five kills, including the match-ending one.
CdM’s senior class helped the Sea Kings earn CIF Southern Section Division 1 and CIF State Southern California Regional Division I titles this season, beating rival Newport Harbor in the final each time.
“I don’t think we could ask for anything better,” Browning said. “I’m just really thankful. I just tried to come out here and have some fun, and [the MVP] is just kind of icing on the cake.”
The North squad featured Newport Harbor outside hitter Cole Pender, bound for UCLA, and Ohio State-bound middle blocker Ethan Talley. Huntington Beach outside hitter Mitchell Bollinger and libero Grant Guinasso, both bound for Long Beach State, also contributed, as did UC San Diego-bound Edison setter Matty Palma.
Twitter: @mjszabo
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