Laguna continues to improve

The Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team went to Corona del Mar Wednesdayfor a battle between rivals and the host Sea Kings got past the Breakers in four sets of the nonleague match between ranked teams, 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19.

Laguna entered the match ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division 2. Corona del Mar, which two weeks ago was ranked second in Division 1, currently is tied for No. 10 in this week’s division rankings.

The Breakers, playing without senior middle blocker and starter Tyler Alter (ankle sprain), took care of the Sea Kings (3-3, tied-No. 10) in the second set behind the play of outside hitter Pete Obradovich. The junior led the Breakers in the match with 16 kills. Sophomore Ryan Blaser and junior Barry Greenough had eight and seven kills, respectively.

Junior libero Cole Paxson had a team-high 14 digs, Obradovich and senior setter Isaac Wulff both had eight digs, and Wulff finished with 32 assists.

The Breakers fell to 0-4, three of their four losses coming against ranked Division 1 opponents.

Laguna will travel north Friday and begins play at 8 a.m. Saturday at the 41st annual Dos Pueblos Invitational at UC Santa Barbara. The Breakers, who won last year’s title and have been in the title match the past two years, are in Pool 4 with Oxnard, Palisades Charter, Mission Hills Alemany and Saugus. They play four pool play games starting and open against Oxnard.

The 30-team tournament includes several ranked teams including Oak Park, the top-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 2, and Saddleback Valley Christian, the No. 1 team in Division 4.

Next week, the Breakers begin their title defense in the Orange Coast League when they open their league season with a 5:15 p.m. home match Tuesday against Godinez. They’ll also face league foe Costa Mesa at 5:15 p.m. Thursday on the Mustangs’ home floor.

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Swimming

The Breakers successfully got their Orange Coast League meet season underway Wednesday with a sweep of host Saddleback.

The varsity girls’ team won by a 122-27 score. Kasey Karkosa earned a CIF consideration time in the 200 freestyle with cut time of 1 minute 59.59.

The boys’ team defeated the Roadrunners by a 140-27 score. Cameron Karkosa hit a CIF consideration time in the 200 free (1:46.66) and a CIF automatic time in the 100 butterfly (52.62).

The Breakers will compete Saturday at the Mission Viejo Swimming and Diving Invitational which starts at 9 a.m. at the Marguerite Aquatic Center. Sophomore Liv Mitchell, who placed fourth in last year’s diving competition at the invitational, will compete for the Breakers, Coach Beth Weber said.

“This is a great meet for us every year in preparation for CIF,” Weber said. “We like the opportunity to race some fast competition this early in the season.”

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Boys’ Golf

The defending Orange Coast League champion Breakers began their league campaign Tuesday and picked up where they left off last year by scoring a 198-226 victory over visiting Costa Mesa at Ben Brown’s Golf Course (par 32).

Low medalists for the match were sophomore Kyle Sharp and senior Adam Mundy of the Breakers who shot 37.

The Breakers raised their overall record to 2-3.

“It was nice to get a win on our league opener match,” Laguna Coach Scott Finn said. “Our guys are still striving to improve.”

In a nonleague match Monday, Aliso Niguel scored a 176-194 win over the Breakers at Ben Brown’s. The teams previously met March 10 at El Niguel Country Club (par 36) in Laguna Niguel, and behind strong performances by Sharp and senior Will Uzelac, each shooting below their season averages, the Breakers earned their first win of the season by edging the Wolverines, 210-211.

The Breakers were on the road Thursday for a league match at Estancia. The score wasn’t available at press time. They meet the Eagles again next Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Aliso Viejo Country Club.

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Boys’ Tennis

The Breakers went to Huntington Beach Tuesday for nonleague play and dropped their first match of the season as the host Oilers took an 11-7 victory.

Ryan Gee won twice (6-0, 1-6, 6-0) at the No. 1 singles line, and the team of Ethan Gee and Hayden Seitz also won twice (3-6, 6-4, 6-0) at the No. 1 doubles line for the Breakers who are ranked No. 2 in the first CIF-SS Division 4 poll of the season.

The Breakers fell to 4-1.

“They’re a lower-ranked (CIF) D-1 team, so it’s a good test to see where we’re at,” Laguna Coach Don Davis said. “We have two new doubles teams in the line-up and they played quite well. So, as a team, we’re improving and making good progress.”

In a previous nonleague match March 10 at Trabuco Hills, the Breakers won their fourth match of the season by downing the host Mustangs, 14-4.

The Breakers, defending champs in the Orange Coast League, started their league season Thursday with a match against Estancia. The score wasn’t available at press time.

“The team is prepared and confident, and I feel very strongly that we’ll come out on top,” Davis said of his team’s chances of repeating as league champion.

Next week, the Breakers host Godinez in a 3:15 p.m. league match Tuesday, take on Sage Hill in a 3 p.m. nonleague match Wednesday at The Tennis Club in Newport Beach, then return to league play Thursday for a 3:15 p.m. match at Saddleback.

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Girls’ Sand Volleyball

The Breakers (South Coast Division) scored a pair of 3-0 victories over Sunset Division teams Edison and Esperanza Saturday in Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League action. Kendyl Brennan and Katelyn Carballo (Team 1), Lauren LaMontagne and Callista Wulff (Team 2), and Kaden Matheson and Katie Hayden (Team 3), competed for the Breakers.

In two matches played March 5, the Breakers shut out two other Sunset Division teams, Foothill and Marina, also by 3-0 scores. Cammie Dorn and Kendyl Brennan (Team 1), Katie Gavin and Lexie McKeown (Team 2) and Lauren LaMontagne and Chloe Edep (Team 3) paced the victories.

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CIF Weekly Rankings

Boys’ Volleyball: Laguna Beach, No. 2, Division 2.

Boys’ Tennis: Laguna Beach, No. 2, Division 4.