Corona del Mar Takes Marathon Route to Title

It was an impossible hill to climb, but La Habra almost pulled it off.

Corona del Mar won the first two games convincingly and took a 9-2 lead in the third game, but La Habra rallied and made the Sea Kings sweat it out for more than two hours before they earned their sixth Southern Section girls’ volleyball championship.

Corona del Mar outlasted La Habra, 15-7, 15-1, 15-17, 11-15, 15-7, to win the Division III-AA championship match Friday at Long Beach State.

“It wasn’t so much that we let down in the third and fourth games but La Habra played so well,” Corona del Mar Coach Steve Conti said. “Our seniors had a never-say-die attitude and that pulled us through it.”

Corona del Mar senior outside hitter Jordana Havriluk led the assault, finishing with 26 kills. Senior Sarah Petry added 16 kills and senior setter Corre Myer had 49 assists and five kills, four coming in the fifth game.

Just as important was the defense. Havriluk had 40 digs and senior Audrey Anhood had 19.

“I told the team to win tonight they would have to serve toughand play good defense,” Conti said.

Corona del Mar (13-7) won the first two games in only 30 minutes. It was so bad for La Habra (14-4) in the early going that setter Amanda Siler had only five assists in the first two games combined.

The Highlanders fell behind, 9-2, in the third game when they started to click.

Middle blocker Suzanne Andrade, who had five of her 10 kills in the third game, and Kirsten Berg, who had 12 kills, helped La Habra reel off 11 consecutive points. Corona del Mar charged to get its first match point at 15-14, but La Habra’s Shannon Dean erased it with a spike off the block.

Corona del Mar wouldn’t get another match point for another hour.

La Habra won the fourth game and was even in the fifth game, 5-5, before Corona del Mar ran off six consecutive points to take control.

After taking a 12-7 lead, the Sea Kings’ defense helped force three hitting errors by the Highlanders and the celebration was on.