CdM, Tars open on road

Neither Corona del Mar High nor Newport Harbor could come up with a

CIF Southern Section girls volleyball title this weekend, but both

schools will continue to play for a championship.

The Sea Kings and the Sailors open the CIF State championships

Tuesday, after qualifying as the runners-up in their respective

Southern Section divisions.

Corona del Mar (21-9), which lost in three games to Bishop

Montgomery in the Southern Section Division III-A final Friday, will

be at University High of San Diego (25-6), the San Diego Section

champion, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Newport Harbor (25-6), which lost in four games to Mira Costa

Saturday in the Division II-AA final, will also travel south,

visiting Scripps Ranch (27-4) in the Division II championships,

Tuesday at 7 p.m. Scripps Ranch won the San Diego Section crown.

A victory by the Sea Kings could earn them a rematch against

Bishop Montgomery, seeded No. 2 in the eight-team Southern California

bracket, in Saturday’s regional semifinal.

Newport Harbor, should it escape the first round, would likely

face Mater Dei, the Southern Section Division II-A champion and the

No. 1 SoCal seed.

OCC given No. 2 seed

* VOLLEYBALL: The Orange Coast College women’s volleyball team

earned the No. 2 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs

and will meet Long Beach City College, at home, in the first round

Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Pirates (17-2), hoping to make it to the state tournament for

the third straight year, finished second in the Orange Empire

Conference behind Golden West, which earned the No. 1 seed in the

regional. Irvine Valley College, also a member of the Orange Empire

Conference, was seeded third.

“I think it really shows the strength of our conference,” Pirates

Coach Chuck Cutenese said.

Six Pirates All-OEC

* VOLLEYBALL: Six members of the Orange Coast College women’s

volleyball team were named All-Orange Empire Conference by the

circuit’s coaches.

Sophomore setter Amber McCarthy, along with opposite Christine

Woller and outside hitter Donka Drozd, were first-team honorees.

Libero Melissa Sherman, along with outside hitters Marti Merriott

and Brenda Bailey, were second-team picks.

McCarthy, with 1,299 assists in her Coast career, surpassed

Heather Ruhl (1,281) as the team’s all-time leader. McCarthy has also

tallied a team-leading 36 service aces and has added 148 digs.

Woller, a transfer from UC Irvine, has slammed a team-high 246

kills through 19 matches, heading into the Southern California

regional playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

Drozd, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, has tallied 218 kills and

leads the Pirates with 23 solo blocks. Bailey has added 129 kills.

Sherman, a sophomore, has amassed a team-high 259 digs while

Merriott slammed 132 kills before rolling her right ankle in the

regular-season finale against Cypress Wednesday. Merriott will not

play for the Pirates in the postseason.

Vanguard runners shine

* CROSS COUNTRY: Vanguard University juniors Jenny Thune and Liz

Huipe finished 34th and 90th, respectively, at the NAIA women’s cross

country championships Saturday at Tom Sawyer State Park in

Louisville, Ky.

Thune’s time of 18:39 over the 5,000-meter course was 11 seconds

off her personal record. Thune’s finish was the second best by a Lion

runner, topped only by Sheri Hall’s ninth-place showing in 1990.

Huipe, an Estancia High product, posted a time of 19:24.

“Both of our girls ran pretty well,” Vanguard Coach Bryan Wilkins

said. “Even to be in the top 100 is pretty good at this level of

competition.”

The women’s race consisted of 256 athletes.

Tars’ Schlesinger signs

* VOLLEYBALL: Adam Schlesinger, a 6-foot-5 senior setter at

Newport Harbor High, has signed a national letter of intent to

continue his volleyball career at Long Beach State.

Schlesinger was recruited by 10 schools, including 2003 NCAA

champion Lewis University and runner-up BYU.

“I think Long Beach State has an outstanding coaching staff and an

excellent student-athlete support department,” Schlesinger said.

Schlesinger is also a member of the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club

team that finished third at the 2003 Junior Olympics in Phoenix,

Ariz.

UCI’s Wing honored

* VOLLEYBALL: UC Irvine’s Kelly Wing, a junior outside hitter,

earned her fourth Big West Player of the Week award after leading the

Anteaters to a win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a UCI

match-record 43 kills Nov. 14.

Wing connected on 43 of 80 attempts and had just 14 errors to hit a season-best .363. She was also responsible for nine kills in Game

Five, including match point, and came up with 11 digs for her 18th

double-double of the season. Wing surpassed her previous mark of 35

kills, which she recorded against Long Beach State earlier this

season, and the 43 kills are the highest number of kills in the Big

West since the rally scoring format was adopted.

Blaze triumphs twice

* SOCCER: Costa Mesa Blaze, an APP under-12 girls soccer team

representing Region 120, grabbed two key victories Nov. 15-16 to take

sole possession of second place in the Area Q standings. The team

(6-2-1) had one regular-season game left before heading into the

playoffs.

In play Nov. 15, Blaze overcame two deficits to defeat Yorba

Linda, 3-2, dropping their victim’s record to 5-3-1.

Striker Shay Goldberg twice found the net for the Blaze, while

Karen Villalba also scored for the winners.

The team’s offense, led by the ball handling and passing of

Justine Cathey, consistently pressured Yorba Linda’s defense.

The Blaze’s defense, which has allowed the fewest goals among Area

Q teams, was led by the tenacious play of Jeana de Arakal and Misha

Brown, midfielders Allyson Wallace and Meagan Henderson, as well as

sweeper Erin Rodman.

In Nov. 16 action, Blaze notched an impressive 4-1 victory of

previously unbeaten Tustin (7-1-1). Goldberg matched her two-goal

performance in the previous game with a pair of scores against

Tustin.

Strikers Jenny Johnston and Kendra Fisher rounded out the scoring

for the Blaze. Goalkeepers Shona Lamb, Amy Ramirez, and Wallace held

the usually high scoring Tustin team to a single goal.

Tustin’s shots on goal were limited due to the defensive play of

Natalie Sekel and Amanda Watson.

Newport blanks Edison

* ROLLER HOCKEY: The Newport Harbor roller hockey team improved to

3-0-1 with a 5-0 victory over Edison Nov. 16.

Goaltender Mike Mosher recorded his first shutout of the season,

stopping 27 shots on goal from Edison (2-0-1).

Rory Campbell led the offensive attack with two goals while Jesus

Sotelo added one goal and an assist.

Vince Mongo (one assist) and Cory Adler added one goal apiece with

assists from Preston Kelly.