CdM storms into CIF finals

IRVINE — After falling behind two games to one, the Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team huddled under the double doors in the Beckman gym Tuesday night.

The “Exit” sign was in green letters over the doors, and the Sea Kings were on the verge of doing just that.

But they weren’t ready to go home just yet. Instead, they’re going to Cypress College for the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA championship match.

CdM rallied in the last two games to top the Pacific Coast League foe Patriots, 24-26, 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 15-9, in a semifinal in front of a raucous crowd.

The third-seeded Sea Kings (21-7) will play top seed Redlands East Valley (23-1) in the CIF finals either Friday or Saturday, the day and time to be determined. Redlands East Valley swept Bishop Montgomery of Torrance on Tuesday, 31-29, 25-20, 25-12.

CdM dog-piled on the court after beating Beckman, and most of the players emerged with huge smiles on their faces.

“I’m so excited right now,” said senior Conley Kipp, who had a team-high 20 kills. “I’m still shaking. There are really no words to describe this right now. I’m just so excited to go to the finals with this team. It’s a really great team.”

Kipp had Beckman (19-8) shaking in its boots too, as the match went on. The Sea Kings fed it to her more and more in Games 4 and 5, helping them jump out to a 16-5 lead in Game 4 and a 10-2 advantage in Game 5.

“She really took the wind out of our sails in Game 4,” Beckman Coach Darin McBain said. “In Game 5, they jumped out to that big lead. It was our passing to start the game, but we’re trying to fight our way back into that game and everywhere you look, Conley’s putting the ball away.

“That was our main weakness all season, that middle blocker spot and how we’re going to defend a great middle blocker on another team. She’s that. She’s a great middle blocker and they exploited it tonight.”

Sydney Brombal had 16 kills and 20 digs for the Sea Kings, and Amanda Nickel had 14 kills. Brombal also served six straight points, including a pair of aces, at the start of Game 5 to help her team to a comfortable 6-1 edge.

“That was really fun,” she said. “I just went out there and I knew that if we got ahead in the beginning, there would be no stopping us.”

Junior setter Madie Smith had 54 assists and 20 digs for CdM, which also received 12 digs from senior outside hitter Jenny Martin and three solo blocks from Kipp.

“They showed a lot of maturity tonight,” said Coach Darryl Gan, whose team earned an automatic berth into the CIF state tournament. “They showed everyone that when they buckle down and put their mind toward something together, they can do anything. They came back against a very, very good team ... It’s nice to see them struggle and then settle down, pick themselves up and move forward. I’m proud of them tonight. They deserve this. They wanted it and they earned it tonight.”

League champion Corona del Mar and Beckman had gone to five games in each of their previous league meetings, and this one proved to be no different. But the Sea Kings had the answers Tuesday when it counted. In Game 5, Beckman closed within 13-7, but a kill by Nickel gave CdM its first match point.

“I think we really, really competed,” Brombal said. “Everyone stepped up and I think everyone played their best.”

The Sea Kings converted their third match point, when a Patriots serve went long, despite the efforts of Beckman junior Lydia Bai (a match-high 26 kills).

Now CdM will try to win its first CIF title since 2004, after losing in the finals two years ago and the semifinals last year.