Title dreams emerged from ashes of defeat

Barry Faulkner

Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division III boys volleyball final

lasted 81 minutes, but top-seeded Estancia High’s 25-15, 25-20,

20-25, 26-24 victory over Orange Lutheran was at least three years in

the making.

The Eagles, whose program had struggled since it lost CIF title

matches in 1979, ‘80, ’83 and ‘84, began to excite then second-year

coach Tracey Ingraham in 2002, when a corps of young, talented, but

raw players endured a 4-13 season (0-10 in the Pacific Coast League).

Forced into the varsity spotlight almost by necessity -- there

were not enough players to field a junior varsity squad --

then-sophomores Josh Kornegay, Kris Hartwell and Brad Larsen, as well

as freshman Trevor Holmes, showed Ingraham signs of cohesion amid the

string of defeats.

“When I saw how well they played together as a team, even though

they weren’t quite a refined as volleyball players yet, I knew there

was something special there,” said Ingraham, an all-league girls

volleyball performer at Estancia in the 1990s. “I knew the guys had

chemistry on the court.”

Kornegay, who played varsity as a freshman, saw it too and began

fueling his passion for the sport with off-season participation in a

club program in Huntington Beach.

Holmes, already a veteran of two seasons with the Balboa Bay Club

program upon arriving at Estancia, joined Kornegay in encouraging

others to hone their talent by playing for club teams.

Larsen followed suit, and later Scott Sankey, a 6-foot-6 senior

who was recruited from the basketball program before his junior year,

enhanced his abilities in club volleyball.

“I really believe Josh and Trevor started it all,” Ingraham said

of the club bug that overtook the roster.

“Getting guys to play club propelled our team,” Kornegay said.

A higher skill level, the experience of having played together in

2002, as well as a shift out of the volleyball-rich Pacific Coast

League (where Corona del Mar, Northwood and Laguna Beach have

achieved consistent success) accelerated Estancia’s rise.

The Eagles were 29-11 last season, earned a share of the school’s

first league title since 1984 and reached the CIF Division III

semifinals.

Last season’s success provided a valuable steppingstone and the

Eagles were ready to fly after another off-season with their

respective club programs.

“It would have been nice to go all the way last year, but we

didn’t expect it,” said Hartwell, who believes Holmes’ arrival at

setter was the key piece to the puzzle.

“I think [winning CIF] was in the back of our minds, even two

years ago,” Holmes said. “We knew it was something we could get to

and we knew it was something we needed to get to.”

After Saturday’s win, Sankey said he getting there was entirely

worth the hard work that paved the way.

“I’ve never played in anything like that before,” he said.