PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Marina Holds Off Corona del Mar

Playing its second match of the season, the Marina High School volleyball team overcame a few rough spots to defeat Corona del Mar in four games Tuesday night at Corona del Mar.

Dennis Winners and John Mull had 13 kills each as Marina, the top-ranked team in Orange County, held off the third-ranked Sea Kings, 15-10, 15-7, 8-15, 15-8.

But Marina (2-0) struggled with its serving much of the match, particularly in the third game. The Vikings committed eight service errors as Corona del Mar rallied from a 7-2 deficit.

John Burns, Marina’s first-year coach, also substituted freely in the third game, pulling Mull, setter Greg Gratteau and Scott Anderson.

“We got the lead and I thought I would put some new guys in and see what they can do,” Burns said. “I’m looking down the road.”

The starters returned for the fourth game, and Marina began capitalizing on its height advantage. Mull and Gratteau each had two blocks and Winners had five kills in the game.

“One of our strengths is our blocking, and we took Corona del Mar out of what it wanted to do,” Burns said. “We started serving better and we had a big block with John and Greg. I think Corona del Mar was a little intimidated by the block.”

Mark Rivadeneyra, Corona del Mar’s first-year coach, said the Sea Kings’ poor passing game hurt their play in the middle.

“We couldn’t get anything going,” he said.

Rivadeneyra said his team struggled in several areas, especially with its serving.

“There were so many serving errors for both teams,” Rivadeneyra said. “The serving was almost 50-50 for both teams. It’s early in the year, that’s it.

“It’s mainly inexperience. We haven’t played together much as a team, but I know our kids our going to be good.”

Rivadeneyra said his top hitters, Doug Hesse and John Upham, are coming off basketball season and still are getting adjusted to volleyball. Hesse led Corona del Mar (0-1) with 11 kills.

“I had them sit out the first week (of volleyball practice),” Rivadeneyra said. “I saw Doug pull up like he was going to shoot a jumper on a couple of his approaches to the net tonight. He’s still in the basketball mode.”

Corona del Mar also was without starter Ryan Foster, another top hitter. Foster injured his right ankle in a first-round game Saturday at the Orange County Championships.

The Sea Kings could have used Foster in the first two games. Marina went on a 6-3 run to close the first game and a 7-0 streak at the end of the second.

“We’re still trying to smooth off some rough edges,” Burns said. “We played pretty well in the first two games. I think we’re on the right road here.”

Brant Shelor finished with seven kills and nine blocks, and Gratteau added 29 assists and five blocks for Marina.

In other nonleague matches:

Cypress 3, Kennedy 1--David Spegon had 12 kills and five aces for host Cypress (4-1), which won, 8-15, 15-10, 15-8, 15-1.

Garden Grove 3, Laguna Hills 1--Troy Davis had eight kills and Ryan Cook six as Garden Grove (2-2) won, 6-15, 15-6, 15-4, 15-9, at Garden Grove.

Newport Harbor 3, Laguna Beach 1--Justin McIntee had 22 kills and Steve Walker added 10 as visiting Newport Harbor (1-2) won, 15-7, 12-15, 16-14, 15-11.

Rancho Alamitos 3, Villa Park 2--Teofil Tifrea had 18 kills and 12 blocks and Jeremy Creveling and Thuc Nguyen each had 12 kills for host Rancho Alamitos (4-2), a 15-11, 15-17, 8-15, 16-14, 16-14 winner.

Santa Margarita 3, El Dorado 1--El Dorado’s Alan Stankovich had 11 kills and Darren Mitchell had 31 assists, but host Santa Margarita won, 15-5, 15-7, 12-15, 15-6.

Valencia 3, Santa Ana 1--Dan Melia had 19 kills and eight blocks and John Wilson had 10 kills and seven blocks for host Valencia (4-0), which won, 15-12, 15-11, 13-15, 15-6.

Woodbridge 3, San Clemente 1--Todd Beebe had 11 kills and three blocks to lead the Warriors (2-0) to a 15-8, 15-10, 13-15, 15-10 victory.