Just a passing thing

Bryce Alderton

Corona del Mar High girls volleyball coach Bill Christiansen

didn’t hesitate when asked what led to the Sea Kings’ three-game loss

to Santa Margarita, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division

III-AA.

“Passing, that was the whole match,” Christiansen said after his

Sea Kings, 10-7, 3-0 in the Pacific Coast League and ranked No. 3 in

CIF Division III-A, lost to the visiting Eagles, 15-8, 15-5, 15-13,

Wednesday night at CdM High. “We didn’t give our players a chance to

hit it.”

Santa Margarita closed out the match when two CdM players collided

going for the ball, typifying the Sea Kings’ struggles Wednesday

night.

Corona had hope in the third game, leading 10-7 after a Lindsay

Ensign kill and Lauren Snell’s service ace, but a Lindsey Campbell

kill gave Santa Margarita a side out and the Eagles rattled off six

straight points.

Among them, Blair Socci’s block and kill, and service aces by

Pederson and Emily Speace, who gave the Sea Kings fits earlier in the

first game with five jump-serve aces in a six-point sequence that

gave the Eagles an 8-1 lead, and a tip-kill from Michelle Greszczuk.

Santa Margarita led, 13-10, in the third game and the Sea Kings

got to within one at 14-13 after Claire Allen had one of her

match-high 14 kills and Ensign slammed another winner for the Sea

Kings before a CdM double hit gave the ball back to the Eagles and

they clinched the win.

Jordan Smith had eight kills for the Sea Kings and Ensign added

six kills. Santa Margarita’s Bowman notched nine kills and Dana

Crary, who had two solo blocks and combined on several more, tallied

eight kills for the Eagles, 9-2, 2-2 in the Serra League.

Santa Margarita got many points on tip kills, a result of a CdM

player returning the ball over the net before allowing the team to

set up a serve-hit scenario.

The Sea Kings did the best they could at keeping the ball in play

on powerful Eagle hits. Lauren Loe reached with her right arm to keep

a ball alive at 3-2 in the third game and had a block at the net in

the first game while Alissa Zoelle dove on the floor on several

occasions for digs.

Ensign and Ashley Bill teamed on blocks throughout the match as

did Allen. Bill had seven assists. Britta Nielsen had a service ace

for the Sea Kings and Smith led the team with six digs.

Christiansen called two timeouts after successive service aces

that gave the Eagles a 13-7 lead during Speace’s jump-serving streak

in the first game. Allen had a kill and Smith followed with a block

and another kill to get CdM to within five, 13-8, but Crary knocked

the Sea Kings out with two kills, one a tip after CdM returned it on

one hit, and a second winner sealed the game, 15-8.

“(The jump serve) should be no problem,” Christainsen said. “You

have to move your feet and get behind it. (Santa Margarita) played

fantastic and we had a terrible match. Hopefully we can regroup in

time for a league game tomorrow and against Northwood on Monday.”

CdM travels to face Pacific Coast League foe Calvary Chapel today

and faces Northwood at home Monday in a showdown for league

supremacy.