BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:CdM’s Bannan named CIF Division II player of year

Corona del Mar High senior setter Phil Bannan was named Player of the Year for Division II All-Amateur Athletic Foundation by the CIF Southern Section Boys’ Volleyball Coaches’ Assn.

Corona del Mar outside hitter Blaine Nielsen and his teammate, junior middle blocker Gus Ellis, were named to the first team. Sea Kings’ coach Steve Conti, who guided CdM to a CIF Division II championship, was named Coach of the Year.

Outside hitter Bayle Smith of Sage Hill was named to the Division V first team.

Eight local volleyball players were honored, including three from Corona del Mar, two from Newport Harbor, and three from Sage Hill.

Corona del Mar junior libero Spencer Brown was a Division II second team selection.

Senior middle blocker Weston Dunlap of Newport Harbor was named to the Division I second team, and the Sailors’ junior setter Kyle Caldwell made the third team.

Smith was honored, along with freshmen Joey Booth (outside hitter) and Mattias Russo-Larson (libero).

Conti led Corona del Mar (33-2) to a CIF Southern Section Division II title, its fourth in the twelve years he’s coached there.

Nielsen, who will play for UC Santa Barbara next season, had 16 kills in CdM’s four-game championship win over Santa Barbara, while Ellis added 20 kills and four blocks.

Bannan, who had three kills, four blocks, eight digs and 52 assists in the title match, is bound for UC San Diego and was also named to “Volleyball” magazine’s All-American Fab 50 list. He was also picked for last season’s Division II second-team.

With the trio of Nielsen, Bannan, and Ellis, the Sea Kings were nearly indomitable as they marched through season, picking up a win in the championship match after losing in five games last year to Valencia.

Smith, Booth, and Russo-Larson led Sage Hill’s young team to the Division V semifinals, where they lost to Viewpoint.

Smith led the Lightning (16-8) in kills and had a season-high 30 in a five-game win over San Marino March 16. After junior middle blocker Jamie McGee was benched due to a preseason injury, Smith and junior Carl Hillgren were the only players that returned from last year’s squad, which lost in the second round of the playoffs.

After losing in the first round of last year’s Division I playoffs, the UCLA-bound Dunlap and Caldwell led Newport Harbor to a win over Santa Margarita in this year’s first round. The Sailors (20-16) then lost a five-game match to Long Beach Wilson in the second round of the playoffs.

— Soraya Nadia McDonald