UCI-bound Wilson shines

Barry Faulkner

Estancia High senior Kris Hartwell flirted with MVP honors, but UC

Irvine-bound Travis Wilson led the South boys to victory to claim the

ultimate individual honor at the Dave Mohs Memorial Orange County

boys and girls all-star volleyball matches Friday at Edison High.

Wilson, a Capistrano Valley senior whose 6-foot-7 frame and

supreme athleticism may be just what UCI Coach John Speraw needs,

collected a team-high six kills in the 22-25, 25-22, 15-10 win. He

also added two stuff blocks, a jump serve ace and a service winner.

Hartwell, less than a week after helping the Eagles claim the CIF

Southern Section Division III title, the program’s first CIF crown,

was the difference in the North’s opening-game triumph.

The 6-2 outside hitter, matched in South Co-Coach Tracey

Ingraham’s lineup with Estancia teammate Josh Kornegay, as well as

Newport Harbor standouts Adam Schlesinger and Morgan Govaars, reached

a higher level, both literally and figuratively, than anyone on the

floor in the first game.

“I was pumped up,” said Hartwell, who is deciding between playing

next year at Orange Coast College or Johnson & Wales, an NAIA school

in Denver. “This was all for fun, but I wanted to play well and it

would have been nice to win.”

Hartwell finished with a team-high six kills, most of which drew

cheers of approval from the crowd.

Using his notable vertical leap, Hartwell soared above blockers to

convert Schlesinger sets. He routinely hit over blockers and rocketed

one spike off the face of a helpless back-row defender.

Schlesinger, bound for Long Beach State, collected 16 assists,

playing the first and third games.

Kornegay had two kills, while Govaars had one kill and one

jump-serve ace.

Estancia senior Scott Sankey contributed four kills and one stuff

block.

The North seized the momentum, however, with Hartwell, Kornegay,

Schlesinger and Govaars on the bench for most of the second game.

Wilson, who did not play in the first game, started the second and

third, launching kills over blockers and sloping sizzling jump serves

toward reluctant North passers.

“I was really excited,” Wilson, who is now competing for the

Newport Beach-based Balboa Bay Club program, said of his performance.

“I didn’t know what to expect, coming in, because I’ve never seen one

of these matches.”

Ingraham, who guided Estancia to its unprecedented title campaign,

shared coaching chores with Fountain Valley High’s Todd Hanson.

“This was totally fun,” she said.

Ingraham also confirmed that Kornegay, a four-year varsity

standout who shared Golden West League MVP honors with Hartwell and

may do the same when All-CIF Division III honors are announced, will

continue his career at the University of La Verne.

Govaars, the Sea View League Player of the Year after leading the

Sailors to the league crown, is bound for the University of

Washington.

Sage Hill School senior Kevin Joyce was selected to the North, but

could not attend, due to a conflict with his graduation ceremony.

* The girls match, which preceded the boys contest, featured a

trio of Newport Harbor standouts who played for the South squad that

fell, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11, to the North.

Former Sailor setter Kellie King collected 11 assists, one ace and

one service winner, while her former Harbor teammates Alyson Jennings

and Lauren Miller also represented the South.

Jennings, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter who will continue her career

at the University of Texas, most likely in another position, had two

kills Friday.

Miller, still recovering from surgery to correct a problem with

patellar tendinitis in her left knee, saw limited action, primarily

subbing in to serve.

It was the final competitive volleyball appearance for King, who

will concentrate on obtaining a business degree at Cal Poly San Luis

Obispo.

King said she had not played since the fall season, but any rust

in her game was difficult to detect.

“I thought I did well, considering I haven’t played,” she said.

Miller, who underwent surgery in February, said she is just more

than halfway through the projected six-month rehabilitation period.

The 5-foot-11 outside hitter, bound for the University of Arizona,

said she is still not quite 100%, though the only noticeable sign of

her injury was the knee brace she wore.

“I feel like I can do everything, but my doctors have told me not

to,” Miller said.

Brea Olinda High senior Brittani Lumsden, who spearheaded the

North victory and is bound for UNLV, was named girls MVP.