CdM boys’ volleyball’s comeback win earns sweep of rival
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The recent run of results for Corona del Mar’s boys’ volleyball team had provided cause for concern, the Sea Kings are eager to get back in the win column after falling out of first place in the Sunset League boys’ volleyball standings.
Senior outside hitter Ben Brown and junior middle blocker Daniel Booker — two of CdM’s more expressive players — got themselves going early, helping the Sea Kings to stand up to a challenge from their crosstown rivals.
Booker and Brown combined for 33 kills in CdM’s 24-26, 27-25, 25-16, 25-16 win over Newport Harbor, as the Sea Kings completed a sweep of the Battle of the Bay series on Tuesday at home.
“Coming off of our losses the last two games, we knew we had to change something up, and that was going to be our energy,” Brown said. “So me and Danny both understood that to [beat] a good team, we got to be loud, we got to be fired up, so that’s kind of what we were going for.”
Corona del Mar (22-5, 7-2 in the Sunset League) was coming off back-to-back road losses — at Edison (10-11, 3-5) and Huntington Beach (15-2, 7-1) — the second seeing the Oilers supplant the Sea Kings as the front-runner in the Sunset League race.
“I think everybody was a bit stung from Edison and then Huntington,” said Booker, who added the team had a “long weekend to think about it” and get back to the basics.
Brown tallied 16 kills, including the decisive swings in the second and fourth sets. Corona del Mar had already dropped an extended first set and was in danger of falling behind further, but a kill by Booker and a double block by Jack Robinson and Drake Foley wiped away two set points for the Sailors in the second.
“This was definitely the match that, I think, we needed to reset ourselves and kind of bounce back,” CdM coach Katey Thompson said. “We knew it was going to be high energy, we knew that they were going to bring it tonight. They brought it that first set, we were kind of on our heels. We were able to regroup, recalibrate, come back. The second set was a lot more efficient.”
Newport Harbor coach Pat Eaton opted for timeouts with his team trailing at 4-0 and 9-3 in the second set. After climbing back into the second set, the inability to close it out was the turning point.
“We did a great job kind of staying in the fight in the second set and got ourselves a good run to get back in the game, but any coach would say we need to be closer with them,” Eaton said. “Instead of getting a run to kind of survive and get back in the game, we needed that run to win, and we just kind of had it too late, kind of buried ourselves.
“Credit to Corona del Mar. I think they did a great job weathering that storm and then finishing that set strong, and they carried that into the third set.”
Corona del Mar totaled a dozen blocks as a team. Robinson had seven block assists, Foley and Booker each had three total blocks, and Brady Gant chipped in with two block assists.
“It’s so much easier when we have a good block,” Brown said. “It’s a lot easier to dig. A good dig means it’s in system, and we can run all our hitters, which means we have less block on us. A good block, it’s really good for us, because we’re not losing as much points. It keeps our spirit high, and we’re focused on hitting more.”
Foley dished out 37 assists, and libero Chapman Warmington supplemented his defensive efforts with six assists for the Sea Kings. Hunter Hanneman had 11 kills and two block assists, and Marco Dibella had two service aces.
“Coming together, talking about the plays, and communicating between one another, that’s what really helps,” Foley said.
Newport Rib Company provided a dinner consisting of ribs, mac and cheese, baked beans and mashed potatoes to the winner of the match. The Sea Kings enjoyed the meal at a table in the center of the gym floor.
“Oh, the ribs are great,” Brown added. “Even better than a win is to get a win with some ribs, and it’s awesome.”
Booker couldn’t agree more, saying, “I enjoy their food a lot. They make it good.”
Alex Wick had 17 kills to lead Newport Harbor (21-8, 5-4), which found itself half a game behind Los Alamitos (20-6, 4-3) for third in the league following Tuesday’s action. The Griffins were scheduled to host the league-leading Oilers on Wednesday.
Tyler Pence spread the ball around for 37 assists. Mats Arens contributed 12 kills and three block assists for the Sailors. Henry Clemo and Zach DeMaio each had eight kills, and Hudson Mann supplied three kills and 1½ blocks.
