CdM senior project: bring home CIF title

Bryce Alderton

Corona del Mar High girls volleyball coach Bill Christiansen’s hope

at the beginning of the season that his seniors would provide

leadership the rest of the team would rally around has come to

fruition.

If the Sea Kings have encountered any trouble, which hasn’t been

too often this fall, at least one of the team’s nine seniors has

usually stepped in to show the way.

“At each key position, we have a senior leader,” said

Christiansen, who leads the top-seeded Sea Kings into tonight’s CIF

Southern Section Division III-A championship match against

third-seeded Nipomo at 7 at Cypress College.

“We are super excited to get back [to the CIF title match],

especially the nine seniors,” Christiansen said.

CdM (25-5) reached last season’s Division III-A final, losing to

top-seeded Bishop Montgomery. With a victory tonight, CdM will claim

its first section crown since 1997.

The Sea Kings, the Pacific Coast League champions, enter having

won 15 of their last 16 matches. They swept San Dimas and Santa Ynez

in the first two rounds before downing fourth-seeded Notre Dame of

Sherman Oaks in four games Tuesday.

“I’m ecstatic with how we’ve done [this season],” said

Christiansen, in his fourth year. “The key has been our passing and

our digging.”

The Sea Kings are led by senior tri-captains Jordan Smith, an

outside hitter bound for UCLA, middle blocker Lindsey Ensign and

defensive specialist Breanne Ogden, who has signed with the

University of San Diego. Ensign tallied a match-high 21 kills to go

with 18 digs while Smith slammed 17 kills while adding 23 digs in

CdM’s semifinal win.

The trio garnered All-CIF recognition last season.

But Christiansen expressed strong praise for the emergence of

sophomores Kasey Kipp, who stands 6-foot-2, and Kelly Christian.

“Kipp is extremely strong and coordinated and has taken over the

middle,” Christiansen said. “And Kelly jump serves as hard as some

college players.”

The Sea Kings, though, face a squad that has also surged of late.

Nipomo (17-2), a third-year school located south of San Luis

Obispo, went 12-0 in winning the Los Padres League.

The Titans, who have made the playoffs all three seasons, come off

a five-game victory. They were down two games to none before rallying

past second-seeded Louisville to reach their first section final.

CdM and Nipomo each qualified for the CIF State tournament, which

begins Tuesday.

Christiansen said he didn’t know much about the Titans, who have

three seniors, but he expects a stern test.

“I heard [the Titans] are medium-sized, but excellent diggers and

pretty much all club players,” Christiansen said. “Being down two

games to none and winning three in a row [against Louisville] reveals

[the Titans] aren’t quitters.

“There are no easy teams when you get to the CIF final.”