PREP ROUNDUP : Strong Serve Powers Corona del Mar

It took a little while, but the Corona del Mar girls’ volleyball team made sure youth was served Tuesday night.

Corona del Mar, ranked second nationally by Volleyball Monthly and second in Orange County, overcame a slow start to cruise past Newport Harbor, 6-15, 15-3, 15-6, 15-11, in a Sea View League game at Corona del Mar.

Lara Carlsen had 13 kills and Stacy Petersen added seven as the Sea Kings (14-1, 5-0 in league play) had 12 aces.

Tara Kroesch had eight kills and two aces for Newport Harbor (9-4, 3-2), which lost its second consecutive match.

Newport Harbor’s Jennifer Glueck caught Corona del Mar by surprise in the first game. She had three aces to spark a 13-1 run as the Sailors overcame a 5-2 deficit.

“We started out like we normally do but Jenny came in and served those cross-court rockets,” Corona del Mar Coach Dale Flickinger said. “But we turned it around.”

Carlsen and Petersen each had three kills in the second game, and the Sea Kings combined for 10 aces, including three by Karin Graves, to win the final two games.

Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said his team couldn’t stop Corona del Mar’s serving.

“We’re a young team (only two seniors) and we knew Corona del Mar wasn’t going to fall apart after the first game with all the seniors it had,” Glenn said. “Corona del Mar’s a fun team to watch, but it’s not much fun to coach against them.”