Hoping to get healthy

Barry Faulkner

Major League baseball has the 15- and 60-day disabled list, the NFL

has injured reserve and Corona del Mar High boys volleyball coach

Steve Conti has, well, his roster.

Conti, in his eighth season, has been without a handful of

standouts thus far due to injuries, including 6-foot-6 Stanford-bound

senior middle blocker Eric Jones, who made his season debut in

Wednesday’s final preleague match against Huntington Beach. Senior

contributors, Brandon Sherick-Odom (a nagging ankle sprain that has

lingered from the basketball season) and Gunnar McClellan (shoulder

problems) are awaiting clearance to begin practice as the Sea Kings,

ranked No. 6 in CIF Southern Section Division II, open Pacific Coast

League play tonight at No. 5-ranked Laguna Beach.

Conti, while appreciative of the experience gained by those

filling the void, is anxious to gain a full complement of players, as

his squad (5-8, including best-of-three tournament matches) attempts

to forge what has become its annual surge deep into the CIF Southern

Section Playoffs.

The lack of depth has not only limited his options in matches, it

has cut into the trademark practice competition Conti believes

polishes his teams for the postseason.

“We’ve had a series of injuries, but that has put some other

people in position to get a lot of playing experience,” Conti said.

“Miles Yourman missed the first two and a half weeks with a broken

hand, then, pretty much the day he was cleared to play, Eric sprained

his ankle. We’re just not as versatile as we could be with all our

guys healthy.”

The return of Jones, a late volleyball bloomer who was considering

playing collegiate hockey until Stanford came forward to trade a

scholarship for his vast potential, could help ease a lot of Conti’s

angst. Though still a bit rusty, Jones produced a team-high 25 kills

in the 17-15, 17-15, 15-12 loss to a Huntington Beach squad ranked

No. 2 in Orange County at the time. Powerfully built and seasoned by

another offseason of club competition, Jones could, if healthy,

provide as dominant a net presence as there is in Orange County.

“He’s going to get a few more sets in the front row than he did

last year and he is also someone we could set in the back row,” Conti

said. “We need his big presence at the net, including his defense.”

Yourman, a 6-2 senior, is another hitting weapon, whether deployed

at middle blocker or outside hitter, while senior Bart Welch is a

third-year varsity veteran who should provide shot-making at an

outside hitter spot, Conti said.

Brian Brinkerhoff, a 6-4 senior, is another threat at middle

blocker and 6-0 sophomore Kevin Welch showed he could add hitting

punch in his varsity debut last spring.

Senior Greg Gabriel, who has grown two inches and filled out

physically from a junior year in which he backed up Spencer Miller

(one of three All-CIF performers who graduated from last year’s CIF

Division IV semifinalist) is triggering the attack. Conti terms him

one of the more athletic setters around.

The brothers Welch, Bart, Kevin and Tom, the sophomore twin of

Kevin, are the key passers, according to Conti, who often deploys the

three-man Welch wall to receive serve.

“Bart has the most important role with passing and digs and he’s

going to be a guy who gets his sets,” Conti said. “He’s a guy most

teams try to avoid serving to, because he is one of our better

passers.”

McClellan and Sherick-Odom should contribute when and if they

become available and Conti expects both to be cleared soon to at

least practice, possibly even this week.

Senior defensive specialist Clay Stone, 5-9 junior Dominic Rubino

and 5-11 sophomore Austin Brawner, a late addition from the junior

varsity, add depth and Conti is also pleased to have former UC Irvine

All-American Donnie Rafter working exclusively as his varsity

assistant after guiding the JV last season.

Brawner already fits in with his elder teammates, having recovered

from ACL surgery performed Oct. 14.

Conti projects Laguna Beach as the primary competition in league,

while defending champion Northwood, which lost all of its starters to

graduation, is ranked No. 8 in CIF Division II.

“Tonight (at Laguna Beach) is big and it’s one of the matches

players love to play in,” Conti said. “Laguna and CdM have a pretty

good volleyball rivalry.”

Another rivalry looming on the horizon is the annual Battle of the

Bay with Newport Harbor. This year’s nonleague meeting is scheduled

May 9 at CdM.