Like Dvorak and Taliaferro, Hansen Set the World on Fire

Corona del Mar setter Kevin Hansen proved this season that he deserved to be named The Times’ Orange County boys’ volleyball player of the year.

He also etched his name into county volleyball lore.

Hansen, a 6-foot-4 senior setter who will play at Stanford next season, led the Sea Kings to their first major division championship since 1989 and a 22-1 record this season.

“He ranks right up there with Taliaferro and Dusty,” said Rocky Ciarelli, Huntington Beach’s 16-year coach.

Brandon Taliaferro is a four-time All-American at UCLA, a 6-5 setter who played at San Clemente High. Dusty Dvorak is a Laguna Beach High and USC alumnus who was a setter for the gold medal-winning 1984 Olympic team.

“I’ve seen a lot of great players,” Ciarelli said. “And Kevin ranks with the best of them. Corona del Mar was a good team but Kevin made them that much better.”

Hansen’s physical attributes were obvious this season. At 6-4, he put up a stronger block than most setters and he could turn suspect passes into perfect sets.

And then there were the intangibles, like the ones he displayed in the Division I final. The ones that can make good players great.

Hansen jammed a finger so badly in that final match against Newport Harbor that he couldn’t feel it. He also aggravated an ankle sprain.

“I panicked a bit,” Hansen admitted later. “I think our coaches did too. But we came way too far to give up on it.”

So although Newport Harbor had seized momentum in the match, winning Game 4 to force a fifth game, Hansen and the Sea Kings found a way to turn the tide.

“I knew we’d never have this opportunity again,” Hansen said. “So no matter what pain there was for me, I knew I had to stay out there or I would regret it for the rest of my life.”

Said Corona del Mar Coach Steve Conti: “You could see it in his eyes. We weren’t going to lose that match.”

Corona del Mar raced to an early lead in Game 5, eventually building it to 13-3. Before long, Hansen and his teammates were celebrating their fourth consecutive victory over the Sailors this season, and the Division I title.

“I said all along that I thought that Kevin Hansen was the player of the year,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “And he did nothing [in the final] to change that opinion.”