CdM gets angry, wins

The Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team was angry. It had

reason to be.

The defending CIF Southern Section Division III-A champion Sea

Kings had stumbled to a 1-8 record through the early part of this

season, and were in the fast lane to mediocrity.

Until Thursday.

“They were a little bit angry that they had lost all of these

matches in the preseason,” CdM Coach Bill Christiansen said.

The anger fueled the fire, and the host Sea Kings responded with a

25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 25-15 Pacific Coast League victory over rival

Laguna Beach, a victory that could trigger some momentum.

“Because we lost so many players [from 2004], it was crucial in

the league race that we win this one,” said Christiansen, last

season’s CIF Co-Coach of the Year. “Plus, it sets the tone and puts

everybody else in the league on notice that we can play a lot better

than we’ve played previously.”

Corona del Mar (2-8, 2-2 in league) lost nine seniors to

graduation last spring.

The 10 newcomers who comprise the squad this year combined with

the returning talent and gelled Thursday against Laguna (10-4, 2-1),

arguably for the first time all season.

Junior setter Kelly Christian and junior outside hitter Juliane

Piggott tied with a match-high 12 kills; junior middle blocker Kasey

Kipp tallied a match-leading 10 blocks; and junior outside hitter

Shannon Johnson posted a match-high 15 digs.

The Sea Kings overcame a second-game trouncing to win the third

and fourth games to seal the match.

Christian, a second-team All-CIF selection last year, upped the

tempo in the deciding Game 4 and slammed six kills to help CdM pull

away.

“I just really wanted it and I kind of got in my groove then,”

Christian said. “We’ve had our ups and downs and I think this really

turns things on. This turns everything around.”

Leading, 13-12, in the fourth game, the Sea Kings rattled off 10

straight points for a 23-12 lead. Minutes later, junior setter Brooke

Terry pounded the match-winning kill.

“We’ve kind of been in a slump and now winning this will probably

bring us closer together and help us mesh,” Kipp said.

“This is a huge turning point, so everyone now is so much more

fired up and ready to play. We were kind of just not playing as a

team before. We had really strong individuals, but we weren’t

meshing.”

The team came together Thursday, however, and sent the Breakers,

ranked fourth in CIF Division IV-AA, home shaking their heads.

CdM pulled out a narrow 25-23 first-game victory behind Christian,

Piggott and a game-clinching service ace from senior Marisa Scott to

gain the early advantage.

But Laguna fired back in Game 2, jumping out to leads at 10-4 and

24-13 before eventually winning, 25-17.

The Sea Kings responded, however, and prevailed in a close third

game and rode the momentum through Game 4.

“I feel like we did an adequate job against them,” Christiansen

said. “We weren’t playing to our potential before. We were struggling

in passing during the last 10 matches. [Thursday] we passed at an OK

level.”