Corona del Mar Fights Off Upset Bid by Torrance Girls

Corona del Mar rallied from a four-point deficit in the third game and a six-point deficit in the fourth game--on both occasions at game point--to defeat Torrance in the second round of the Southern California Division I girls’ volleyball regionals Saturday night at Newport Beach.

Corona del Mar, the top-ranked team in USA Today’s national rankings, advanced to the state semifinals with a come-from-behind 15-10, 6-15, 16-14, 17-15 victory over Torrance. The Sea Kings (22-0) will play host to Stockton St. Mary’s at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

St. Mary’s advanced with a 15-10, 15-13, 15-8 victory over Los Altos in the Northern California regional. The winner advances to the state championship Dec. 5 at Cal State Fullerton.

Corona del Mar came close to missing the party. The Sea Kings were trailing, 14-10, in the third game, but rallied behind the play of outside hitter Jennifer Stroffe.

Stroffe had four kills and then teammate Allison Englebrecht blocked a hit by Torrance’s Kim Blankinship to win the game, 16-14.

Torrance (22-2) appeared to have the fourth game wrapped up when the Tartars took a 14-8 lead, but Lorie Newcomer rallied Corona del Mar. Newcomer had two kills and an ace and Englebrecht added an ace and a match-ending block to give the Sea Kings an improbable 17-15 victory.

“We stress from the first day of practice not to worry about the score, just play hard,” Corona del Mar Coach Lance Stewart said. “Our middle attack won the game for us. We must have hit about .800 from the middle and if we need to play like that, it opens up our left side.”

The victory overshadowed an outstanding effort by Torrance’s Blankinship, who had a game-high 35 kills. Stewart praised the play of the 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter.

“She’s a fantastic hitter,” Stewart said. “We played against some great hitters in Chicago, but we hadn’t faced anyone as consistent as her. Still, I liked our balance. We had five players with 10 or more kills.”

Torrance won the Southern Section Division III championship Nov. 21, but elected to move up two divisions and anticipated meeting Corona del Mar in the regionals.

“The whole idea was playing Corona del Mar,” Torrance Coach John Radcliffe said. “We got to 14 twice and it got away. We just couldn’t get that last big point. I can’t ask any more from the girls than what they gave us.”

Stroffe, who led Corona del Mar with 17 kills, said she began wondering if the Sea Kings were beatable after losing the second game, 15-6, and then falling behind, 14-10, in the third game.

“But we kept playing our game and made them adjust to our style of play,” she said. “It was a great win.”

Division II--The Torrey Pines girls’ team defeated Bishop Montgomery, 15-9, 16-14, 3-15, 10-15, 15-13

Division III--The South Torrance girls’ team beat La Jolla, 15-6, 15-7, 15-8