CdM serves up three-game win

Steve Virgen

It was a match the Corona del Mar High boys volleyball team was

supposed to win.

It was also a match that showed just how far Sea King freshman

Adam Smith has come in such a short time.

Corona del Mar, the defending Pacific Coast League champion,

easily defeated Calvary Chapel, 25-10, 25-17, 25-8, in the Sea Kings

gym Friday, when Smith, the only freshman on the squad, continued to

solidify his status on the varsity team.

Smith had just one kill and one block assist, but he pulled the

Sea Kings out of an early rut in the opening game.

With the score tied, 3-3, junior Tom Welch slammed a kill from a

Smith assist to give serve to Corona del Mar. Smith then served for

seven straight points, which included three service aces. One of his

serves resulted in an overpass that Welch emphatically put away for

an 11-3 lead, and the Sea Kings were well on their way to improving

to 9-7, 2-0 in league.

“He’s playing with this team because he deserves it,” Conti said

of Smith, the younger brother of Jordan, a standout on the Corona del

Mar girls volleyball team. “He has been around the game and he

understands the game. And, his approach to practice is one of the

reasons why he is on varsity.”

Smith began the season on the junior varsity, but quickly moved up

and has started a few matches, Conti said.

Shortly after the Smith-led 8-0 run, junior Kevin Welch produced

another spurt. He finished off a set from senior setter Dominic

Rubino and then served for three straight points, including two

jump-serve aces.

Conti said he had not let Kevin or Tom Welch jump serve in

previous matches because he wanted to preserve the twin brothers’

energy. But against the Eagles, he turned them loose and the results

were apparently too much for Calvary Chapel (4-4, 0-2).

Kevin Welch, who is 6-foot-1, collected eight aces, including five

straight to end the match. Tom Welch (6-foot) had two aces.

“They’re not like your typical [tall] hitters,” Conti said of the

Welch brothers. “It’s not as if we really have to save them. Those

guys are pretty strong.”

The Welch twins weren’t the only ones with service aces. In

addition to Smith (three), juniors Shane Collins (two) and Grant

Almquist (two) also contributed.

Kevin Welch and junior Austin Brawner led the Sea Kings with eight

kills each. Tom Welch added five kills and junior Ted Slaughter, the

team’s tallest player at 6-6, chipped in four kills.

Rubino provided 16 assists, while Almquist had seven.

The Sea Kings scored the majority of their points by capitalizing

on Calvary Chapel errors. The Eagles led only once in the match, in

the third game, when Eric Bremer opened with an ace for a 1-0 lead.

But Calvary Chapel fell apart after that. Brawner, who had two blocks

in the third game, Collins and Almquist made sure the match would not

go to a fourth game.

Kevin Welch continued to compete in the third game, compiling four

kills and the aforementioned five straight aces, which was a first

for the season.

Conti said he was pleased he had the chance, “to try different

things and work to improve in some areas before spring break.”

Next week, the Sea Kings will practice lightly and also have a

team dinner, followed by a night of bowling, Conti said.