CdM wins CIF title

Bryce Alderton

The Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team kept it simple in its

CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship clash with Nipomo

Friday night at Cypress College.

“We were just out there playing for fun,” said Breanne Ogden, one

of nine seniors dotting the CdM roster.

And simple translated to a sweet sweep for the top-seeded Sea

Kings, who won the program’s seventh section championship and first

since 1997 with a 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 victory over Nipomo, in its

third year of existence.

“Just sheer excitement,” CdM senior outside hitter Jordan Smith

said when asked to describe how she felt following the triumph.

“We’ve talked about this for four years and it’s so unbelievable.”

Smith and senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign each tallied 16

digs to help anchor the Sea Kings (26-5), who outscored the

third-seeded Titans, 8-1, to close out game three -- and the match --

after the teams were tied at 16.

“We realized we had to push and come together as a team,” said

Ensign of the late tie in game three. “We knew Nipomo lost the first

two games in the [semifinals against second-seeded Louisville before

winning the final three games]. Jordan had some awesome kills and

[senior setter] Traci [Lawson’s] serving was awesome.”

Sophomore Kelly Christian sent Lawson’s 17th assist down the line

for the match-clinching kill, eliciting the customary huddle of

jubilation by the winners.

Lawson also led the Sea Kings with two ace serves.

Several of the Sea Kings did most of their statistical damage in

the third game.

Among them were senior Shannon McMenomy, who tallied all of her 10

digs in the third game while nine of Ensign’s digs came in the span.

“We were stronger, but Nipomo (17-3) was an A-plus digging and

serving team,” CdM Coach Bill Christiansen said. “We had to play our

best match to beat them. [The Sea Kings] kept their poise even when

we they were behind and they worked extremely hard.”

The Sea Kings’ defense rose to the occasion, tallying 14 total

blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Kasey Kipp led CdM with four blocks

while four players tallied two each.

Ensign, who is being recruited by Princeton, Yale and UC Berkeley,

led the Sea Kings with 12 kills while Smith, bound for UCLA, slammed

nine.

Senior Breanne Ogden, who will continue her career at the

University of San Diego, finished with nine digs.

“We put so much time into this and it paid off,” Ogden said. “We

proved everyone wrong.”

The Sea Kings will have at least one more match to do some more

proving when they begin the CIF State tournament on Tuesday.

Ensign likes the Sea Kings’ chances.

“With nine seniors, how could you not feel confident?” Ensign

said.