Boys volleyball: Sea Kings clinch playoff spot

Steve Virgen

IRVINE - Amid an action-packed week of volleyball, Corona del Mar

High Coach Steve Conti has noticed some things are better left unsaid.

Conti has chosen to take a sit-back type approach and let his team grow,

and the Sea Kings’ maturity continued Thursday, when CdM clinched a CIF

Southern Section Division IV playoff spot after defeating Pacific Coast

League host University, 15-6, 15-1, 15-12.

‘We had a league match (Wednesday) night,” Conti said after his Sea

Kings (7-4, 5-3 in the PCL) won an eventful Game 3. “We had one match

(Thursday night), and we’re going to roll in to Santa Barbara around 1:30

(this morning) and we have to wake up at 6:30 a.m. because we have a

match at 8. I don’t want to tell them how to (approach) it. I just kind

of let them go at it.”

Conti also said Corona has been struggling with unforced errors all

season, but he didn’t see many errors in Games 1 and 2.

“I think we’re playing a little bit better,” Conti said. “There are

times when we play really good, and I think we’re getting over the hump,

but we just haven’t done that on a consistent basis. We still have a lot

of room to grow. I believe our best volleyball could be in front of us.

We just have to make it happen and play on a more consistent level.”

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 4 in Division IV, were assuredly in sync in

Game 1, especially when freshman Kevin Welch was serving. He served for

an ace an followed it up with an emphatic, “Yeah!” Welch’s ace prompted a

Uni timeout, as CdM led, 13-6.

The Trojans (3-5 in the PCL) earned sideout after the timeout, but

Corona came right back, as junior Bart Welch, slammed for a kill after a

Spencer Miller set. Freshman Tom Welch, Kevin’s twin brother, served for

the last two points, as Ryan Inman (10 kills) collected a kill and senior

John Grod posted one of his 10 kills. Miller amassed 47 assists.

CdM junior Eric Jones also contributed 10 kills, while Kevin Welch

added nine and junior Miles Yourman produced seven in the tight Game 3.

The Sea Kings easily took care of Uni in the second game, when Grod

served for an ace, as did Inman, who ended the game on his.

There were four ties and two lead changes in the final game. CdM broke

away from a 9-9 tie to win, 15-12. Junior Brandon Sherrick-Odom

highlighted the action with three kills in the 6-3 run. And after each of

his kills, his Sea King teammates cheered, “B.S.O.”

The Sea Kings begin Santa Barbara Tournament play, facing Bullard High

from Fresno today at 8 a.m.