Ensign in the middle of CdM’s CIF title run

Chris Yemma

It’s no fluke of nature that Corona del Mar High senior volleyball

captain Lindsey Ensign is a standout player.

It’s more like it was destined to be. After all, her parents, Curt

and Elizabeth, met playing volleyball at Corona del Mar’s China Cove

beach in the 1980s.

Now, the offspring of two volleyball players is simmering a

nightmare stew for opposing teams.

Ensign, a 6-foot middle blocker and one of three captains for the

Sea Kings, has already led her team to a CIF Southern Section

Division III-A title, and is on her way to possibly aiding in the

addition of a state championship.

She has started on varsity since she was a freshman and is

currently a leader on a team with nine seniors. And, last season, she

was first-team All-CIF.

“She has been one of the most crucial players for this team and is

one of the premier middle blockers in the country,” Sea Kings Coach

Bill Christiansen said. “Now, she is a huge asset in the back row as

well.”

The common goal among all of the CdM volleyball players before the

season began was to win CIF. Now that that’s in the stocking, the

next item of business is the state championship. And with Ensign

holding the reins, the Sea Kings have as good a chance as any.

“The goal was always there [to make it to state competition],”

Ensign said. “Now that it’s here, it’s almost surreal. But with us

playing well, I can’t see us losing. We have a pretty good chance at

winning the whole thing.”

Ensign sees her role on the team as one that involves leadership

among the younger players. And with nine seniors on the team, she

sees herself as an equal with the other players.

“There’s not so much looking up to each other,” Christiansen said.

“It’s more of a team of great mutual respect for each other.”

Ensign started playing volleyball when she was in the eighth grade

when one of her friends got her into it. But with her parents being

volleyball players and her uncle, David Foell, a former volleyball

player at Pepperdine, she said it was almost inevitable that she

started playing.

Now, Ensign is the player and her uncle and parents are the

mentors. Recently, Foell has been a big mentor, coming to all the

matches and giving advice, Ensign said.

Ensign has plans to continue her volleyball career into college.

She just committed to Princeton, but she has to wait until Dec. 15 to

see if her grades are good enough. With a 3.7 grade-point average,

her chances look pretty decent.

If Princeton were to fall through, there are plenty of other

schools interested, though.

“She’ll make an A-plus player in college because she can play

outside or middle,” Christiansen said. “If she plays in the Ivy

League, she’ll dominate it.”

It’s the love of the game that Christiansen believes fuels Ensign

most. A lot of players get upset for various reasons when they are

asked to leave the court for a substitution, but Ensign doesn’t want

to come out because she loves to play, he said.

“She has got an attitude that’s like Magic Johnson’s, in that you

can see she’s having a great time,” Christiansen said.