Girls volleyball: CdM in five

Tony Altobelli

CORONA DEL MAR - Another day, another Corona del Mar High-Newport

Harbor girls volleyball five-game, two-hour, back-and-forth thriller.

When the smoke cleared, it was the host Sea Kings who prevailed,

11-15, 9-15, 15-13, 15-9, 15-13, Thursday night.

“It was a very physical game out there tonight and with this being our

third five-game match of the year already, I think that helped us down

the stretch,” CdM Coach Bill Christensen said, following his first Battle

of the Bay victory as the Sea Kings’ skipper.

“We’ve got a pretty good team over here and when we play at even

80-90% of our potential, we can beat any team around, and you can quote

me on that.”

Claire Allen, a junior transfer from Newport Harbor, stung her former

teammates with 17 kills and six ace serves.

“She was strong and even though she had friends on both sides of the

court, I don’t think that was an issue,” Christensen said. “Her strong

play really helped us rally.”

Rally doesn’t quite give Thursday’s comeback justice. After losing the

first two games handily, the Sea Kings (4-0), limited their mistakes and

forced the Sailors (1-1) to play on their heels the remainder of the

match.

“Give Corona del Mar credit,” Newport Coach Dan Glenn said. “They

eliminated some of their unforced errors and we just couldn’t finish them

off down the stretch. We had opportunities to end it early and we just

couldn’t do it.”

Newport’s triple threat of junior Kristen McClune (16 kills, seven

aces) as well as seniors Christine Woller (15 kills) and Liz Lord (11

kills) helped Newport cruise to wins in the first two games. In the

opener, Newport led, 14-6, but had to hold off the pesky Sea Kings, who

scored five straight points before falling.

CdM jumped out to a 9-4 lead in Game 2 before Newport ripped off the

final 11 points. One of those points came courtesy of a red-card

violation by Christensen for excessive arguing.

“And those guys (the officials) are my friends,” Christensen joked

afterward. “You should see me when I don’t like the referees.”

Game 3 had CdM with leads of 7-1 and 13-8, before the Sailors rallied.

Back-to-back aces by McClune capped off a 5-0 run to even the score,

13-13.

But CdM held tough. After CdM earned a sideout, a Newport passing

error gave the Sea Kings a 14-13 lead. And, when senior Jacqueline Becker

came up with an impressive dig, the Sailors shot themselves in the foot,

giving the hosts Game 3.

This time, it was the Sailors who jumped out to a quick lead, taking

an 8-3 advantage. But a 9-0 CdM run turned all the momentum back to the

Sea Kings’ favor. After Newport scored again, the Sea Kings ended Game 4

with a 3-0 run, forcing a fifth game.

“I told the girls at the end of Game 4 that if it goes to a fifth

game, it’s a crap shoot,” Glenn said.

In Game 5, scored on the rally system, there were five lead changes

between the schools. The turning point came with Newport leading, 6-5.

CdM went on a 7-2 run and took the lead for good.

The Sailors hung tough and responded with a 5-2 run to tie the game at

13-13, but following a third Game 5 service error and an errant return,

CdM charged the court victorious.

Senion Morgan Smith balenced CdM’s offensive arsenal with 15 kills,

while Becker paced the attack with 40 assists.

“Jacqueline was a strong leader for us out there, both with her play

and verbally,” Christensen said. “When we got a little flustered, she

brought the team’s focus back to where it needed to be.”

For those who missed the excitement, the two schools square off again

Nov. 2 at 5:45 in the Sailors’ gym.

“I’m looking forward to that next match,” Christensen said. “We want

to prove to everyone that this was no fluke.”