Dons deliver payback on CdM

SANTA BARBARA — The way the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team kept saving match points, déjà vu came over the Santa Barbara High gym Wednesday night.

Three match points were saved by kills from CdM senior Jeff Carlson, another from senior Dillon Flinn to tie the decisive fifth game at 17-17.

But this time, unlike two years ago, the Dons had an answer.

The block of Santa Barbara junior Chris Pratt, his match-high sixth of the night, ended the Sea Kings’ season. It helped the Dons escape with a 16-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 19-17 win in a CIF Southern Section Division II semifinal match.

Santa Barbara advances to Saturday’s Division II championship match against top-seeded Valencia of Valencia, which beat Dos Pueblos in four games.

“I feel like the monkey’s off my back,” said a grinning Santa Barbara Coach Chad Arneson. “We found a way. I’m just ecstatic right now.”

Two years ago, it was CdM which was down 14-9 in the decisive fifth game. Same gym, same semifinal match, but the Sea Kings somehow pulled out an 18-16 shocker to take the match.

Last year, it was the Sea Kings who topped the Dons in the Division II championship match.

But No. 2-seeded Santa Barbara (29-4) made sure it paid third-seeded CdM (26-7) back, even as the Sea Kings roared out the gates. They jumped out to a 10-2 lead Wednesday in Game 1, on three successive aces from sophomore Weston Nielsen (10 kills), and won the game going away. In Game 2, Corona del Mar was up, 24-18, and sensing a two-game lead.

It never came. The Dons won eight straight points to capture the game.

“I mean, we probably should have had them that second game,” said USC-bound outside hitter Carlson, who had a match-high 22 kills. “We kind of let up a little bit. I don’t know how to explain it; sometimes that just happens. It happened in the third game for us, we came back because of their mistakes.”

CdM Coach Steve Conti said he wasn’t too concerned about Game 2 in the end.

“We just don’t play the ‘what if’ game here,” Conti said. “Who knows, we could have won that game and the outcome could have been the same. They stole Game 2 from us, but we came right back and stole Game 3 from them.”

The Sea Kings did just that, coming back from a 20-16 deficit to win the game on Connor Bannan’s ace. CdM was even up 10-5 in Game 4 before the Dons scored five straight points to even the game. Santa Barbara would win the game, tying the match at 2-2.

That’s when Arneson said he made a key decision. He decided to start Pratt in the fifth game, despite the fact that he usually comes off the bench.

“I really thought it benefited us to have him start right off the bat,” Arneson said. “It brought some energy, and what do you know, he ended up blocking it for the win.”

Pratt indeed rewarded the decision. After CdM had rattled off three straight points, it was Pratt’s kill that gave the Dons a 10-9 lead. And, after a kill by Nielsen pulled the Sea Kings within one at 13-12, it was Pratt’s big block that gave the Dons their first match point.

“They just made some great plays,” Conti said. “I don’t think our guys went out and lost this match as much as Santa Barbara won it.”

Pratt added 11 kills for Santa Barbara, while junior Taylor Fauntleroy had a team-high 12 and UC Irvine-bound senior outside hitter Will Montgomery added 10.

For the Sea Kings, junior middle blocker Dylan Davis had 12 kills, and Stanford-bound senior middle blocker Gus Ellis had five kills and four blocks. Senior Spencer Brown had seven digs, and Flinn, a Cal-bound senior outside hitter, added seven kills.

Bannan dished out 51 assists for CdM, which failed to advance to the Division II championship match for the first time since 2004.

“I’m bummed,” Carlson said. “I kind of wanted to go to practice for a few more days, instead of finals. But it’s been a long four years; we all gave our hearts to the team. We’ve played with each other for awhile now, and it’s been fun. It’s sad it has to end.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.