CdM girls’ volleyball sweeps Sage Hill in home opener
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Corona del Mar could count on meaningful contributions in all rotations from its top two hitters, and that made all the difference for the Sea Kings in their girls’ volleyball home opener.
Senior outside hitters Sofia Dajnowiec and Savannah Dennis combined for 36 kills on Tuesday in CdM’s 25-10, 25-21, 25-19 win over Sage Hill in a nonleague match.
Dajnowiec celebrated her birthday with match-leading totals of 22 kills and two service aces, while Dennis came out of the gates on fire with nine kills in the first set.
“They were ready for this home opener,” CdM coach Max Gamboa said. “Last year, we got off to a slow start at home, so this was a great homecoming for them for their senior year. We’re really excited about those two.
“It makes a huge difference when you got somebody that can control the court in the front row, in the back row, and then you see them both getting up and taking swings out of the back row and putting [the opposition] on the back foot defensively.”
Corona del Mar (2-0) made an eventful run — featuring a trio of five-set matches — to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals last season.
With the graduation of Casi Doll (UC Riverside), a spot opened up at the left pin. Dennis, who played at opposite as a junior, has moved into a full-time, six-rotation role.
“That felt pretty good,” said Dennis, who tallied 14 kills without a hitting error. “I couldn’t do it without serve receive, or all the defense they were putting out. My setter, she was doing great, Myrto [Charalabidi]. She was hustling all over the court and just putting up good balls for me to hit.”
Charalabidi wound up with 42 assists. Middle blocker Cooper Piercey added eight kills for CdM, while libero Makenna Smith faced a stiff challenge in trying to keep points alive against Eve Fowler, a 6-foot-4 junior outside hitter who had a team-high 15 kills for the Lightning.
“I think you just got to be very reactive with her because you never know what she’s going to do,” Smith said of Fowler, who also stars in basketball at Sage Hill. “She’s huge, so she could just slam one at you, or she could do a little tricky shot.
“I just kind of stay calm on defense, and I just got to react to wherever she’s going. Just go as fast as I can and hope the ball goes up. I think we were pretty successful with that. I think our team does really well with talking about who’s going for the ball and just hustling after every play.”
The Sea Kings gave up their share of runs in the second and third sets, but with the score tighter, they pushed the pace in putting the ball back in play from the service line.
“We thrive when we’re playing in a rhythm,” Gamboa said. “If we can serve in a rhythm, we want to keep that rhythm. Volleyball is big on everybody huddling in the middle. Whoever’s serving that ball after we score, they’re not huddling in the middle. They’re going back to serve.
“We’re ready to go. We want to keep that pressure on whoever’s not passing that well and keeping them out of system over there.”
Sage Hill (3-3), which qualified for the Division 2 playoffs a year ago, has undergone significant change. Dan Thomassen retired as head coach of the program in the spring. Addison Uphoff, like Fowler a multi-sport athlete in basketball and volleyball, transferred to Redondo Union.
Michelle Feliciano, who played at Aliso Niguel before competing in college at the University of Denver, took over as coach of the Lightning in May. There’s another Fowler in the fold too.
Freshman Emmy Fowler, who spent time at opposite and setter, contributed eight kills, six assists and a block assist for the Lightning. Leah Lee also had eight assists.
“I’m super excited for her,” Feliciano said of Emmy Fowler’s early-season production. “She’s definitely helped us out a lot. She’s got great hands as a setter, she can serve, she can attack in the front row and play some good defense. I’m excited to have her for the next four years.”
