Sea Kings Take the 5th, Defeat Harvard Westlake

Corona del Mar appeared to be on its way to an easy quarterfinal victory over North Hollywood Harvard Westlake in the Southern Section Division I volleyball playoffs. But the Wolverines battled back, taking the match to five games, before falling to the Sea Kings 15-10, 15-12, 13-15, 6-15, 15-8, Friday at Corona del Mar.

After fourth-seeded Corona del Mar (15-2) took a two-game lead, Harvard Westlake (15-4) turned its game around and tied the match at two games apiece.

“I think their team just started playing their best as the match went on,” Corona del Mar Coach Steve Conti said. “We played near-perfect in the first two games and there was nowhere to go after that.”

After the Wolverines tied the match, 2-2, and had all the momentum on their side, it was the Sea Kings turn to have their backs against the wall. But Conti stepped in and fired up his team.

“After Game 4 I told the seniors that we spent four years of blood and sweat to build this team and we were not going to finish on a losing note,” Conti said.

It worked. Corona del Mar raced to a 7-1 lead. They stretched the lead to 12-4, before the Wolverines closed the gap to 12-8. But the Sea Kings held on, as senior middle blocker Morgan Jackson put the match away on a kill down the middle. Jackson, Dennis Alshuler and Greg Stampley each had five kills in the final game. Alshuler led the Sea Kings with 26 kills.

“We made some key mistakes at the wrong time,” Harvard Westlake Coach Jess Quiroz said. “We were right in there with them and then all the sudden we squandered some points. In the final game we got caught on our heels.”

--MELANIE NEFF

In another Division I match:

Esperanza 3, Los Angeles Loyola 2--Dusty Russell had 21 kills to lead host Esperanza (18-2) past second-seeded and previously unbeaten Loyola, 14-16, 17-15, 15-9, 6-15, 15-6. Phil Peterson had 14 kills, Pat Nihipali had 10 and setter Scott Winant had 65 assists for the Aztecs, who will play third-seeded Newport Harbor Wednesday.

Simi Valley Royal 3, Fountain Valley 0--Ryan Moberly had 26 kills to lead top-seeded host Royal (26-0) to a 16-14, 15-10, 15-13 victory.

Fountain Valley’s Brad Keenan, who has signed with Pepperdine, had eight of his 22 kills in the first game. Joe Volz added 14 kills for the Barons (11-7).

In Division II:

Servite 3, Goleta Dos Pueblos 1--Tony Grisey had 18 kills to lead Servite to a 15-7, 4-15, 15-9, 15-5, victory in the quarterfinals. Kyle Smith had 10 blocks and Eric Barnes had 14 kills and seven aces for the Friars (22-2), who play Redondo Union.

Tye Thoreson had 18 kills for host Dos Pueblos (12-10).

In Division III:

Laguna Beach 3, Cerritos Valley Christian 0--Miles McGann had 46 kills for second-seeded Laguna Beach (13-9), which won, 15-13, 15-11, 19-17.