Sea Kings swept away in championship match

Steve Virgen

Early in the first game of a match that would determine the Pacific

Coast League title being shared or won outright, the Corona del Mar

High girls volleyball team grabbed the momentum. But, in volleyball,

and every other sport, it’s not how you start, but how you finish.

The Sea Kings found that out the hard way, as Northwood won its

first PCL title, collecting a 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 victory over host

CdM Thursday.

CdM (18-8, 8-2 in league), the defending league champion, sprinted

out to a 5-1 lead in the first game, but that ended up being its

largest lead of the night.

“We played absolutely horrible and they played fantastic,” CdM

Coach Bill Christiansen said. “They played A-plus defense. They are a

stable team and they can go very far in [the CIF playoffs].”

Christiansen was stumped when trying to figure out why his team

didn’t play to its potential.

“We were very pumped up for this game,” Christiansen said. “We

looked so good in practice. I don’t know. We have the talent. We

should go to five games with them and win. We beat them in the Dave

Mohs tournament (a 25-13, 25-28, 15-13 win Sept. 20). It’s

disappointing. We have so much talent. We’re just not playing

together.”

Northwood (19-4, 10-0), on the contrary, came together against the

Sea Kings. The Timberwolves, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section

Division III-AA, broke away from a 9-9 tie with an 11-3 run and went on to win the first game. They clearly had the momentum, and they

maintained it.

“The first few plays of the game we thought we might be in for a

battle,” Northwood Coach John Gaido said. “We stepped up our serving.

We knew we had to dig and tip and sell out on defense, getting the

bruises and scrapes.”

Gaido was also impressed with the way his team put aside off-court

issues, as most of the players were involved with homecoming

festivities after the match. Sarah Susson, Laura Black and Danielle

Changala were on the homecoming court.

Black led the Timberwolves with 14 kills and two aces, while

Susson added 16 assists. Lindsay Macias was also effective for

Northwood, slamming 11 kills.

CdM was led by junior Jordan Smith, who recorded 10 kills and one block, while junior Lindsey had nine kills and senior Ashley Bill

amassed 24 assists.

Northwood had also swept CdM Oct. 20, ending the Sea Kings’

15-match winning streak in the PCL.

The Sea Kings will face Back Bay rival Newport Harbor today at

5:15 p.m. at Newport.