Newport volleyball community remembers former Corona del Mar player Matt Olson
Corona del Mar High School couldn’t hold off another Newport Harbor onslaught and saw its Battle of the Bay rival — and fellow boys’ volleyball powerhouse — clinch the Surf League title Thursday night, and it stung, even if the result, in the larger context, was secondary.
For the Sea Kings, it was a chance to honor one of their heroes — and allow Newport Harbor to pay tribute, too — and if their performance wasn’t good enough in the four-set defeat, the effort would have made Matt Olson proud.
“This game would have been most important to him, because he loved the rivalry,” Darby Olson said after Corona del Mar fêted her son, honoring his number 23 jersey in a pregame ceremony. “Most of all, he loved being with his best friends on the court. And he had [a lot of friends] at Harbor.”
Matt Olson, an honors student and two-sport standout from the class of 2019, was just days from the start of his freshman year at USC when he was killed in a bizarre incident on the Harbor Freeway near the university’s campus. His death rocked the tight-knit Newport Beach volleyball community, spread between both schools through the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club, and Thursday provided an opportunity — impossible during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic — to remember a favorite son.
He was eulogized in pregame speeches by former CdM head coach Steve Conti and by his mom, for his robust spirit, his kindness, his intelligence, and his uncanny ability to draw in others and encourage them to be their best. His framed number 23 jersey, which head coach Katey Thompson says will never again be worn during her tenure, was presented to the Olson family: Darby, husband Rex, son Drew and daughter Taylor.
“It’s overwhelming to be recognized by the community and how much they love you,” Rex Olson said afterward. “It proves to me that people won’t remember you for your achievements, they’ll remember you for how you made them feel, and Matt made people feel like a winner, a teammate. He was a good player — part of [the Sea Kings’ 2018 mythical] national championship team, was first-team all-league, played in the Orange County All-Star game — but we’ve had so many great players come through Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar. They’re simply recognizing him for being a good person.
“He was the guy that would support you when you were at low times and high-five you when you had good times. I think that’s what people remember about him.”
Youngest son Troy, a freshman at the University of Georgia, was the last to wear 23, as a senior last year, and his graduation was the impetus to pay tribute to the number now.
“We thought that was right that number 23 end with Matt’s younger brother,” said Thompson, who never coached Matt Olson but knows him from the tales so many others have shared. “That it ends with an Olson.”
The Sea Kings, ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 and 2 combined rankings, warmed up in
T-shirts with Olson’s name and number on the back — Thompson and her staff and many with close ties to the program also donned the shirts — and the seniors, especially, dedicated their efforts to his memory. Many of them were coached by Olson at adjacent Corona del Mar Middle School through a relationship between the schools’ volleyball programs.
It didn’t turn out as planned, with the third-ranked Sailors romping to a 26-24, 25-17, 22-25, 25-14 victory.
“That’s a good team, and honestly, whenever you play in a Battle of the Bay match, it’s all about who comes out and who’s ready to ball out,” said Thompson, who starred and coached at Newport Harbor. “We came ready and then lost a little bit of our confidence, which knocked us out a little bit. We started to second-guess ourselves.”
Newport Harbor (21-5, 5-0), responding to Tuesday’s Sunset Conference crossover loss to No. 11 Los Alamitos, was sharp most of the way, fierce on the serve and solid defensively, behind UCLA-bound junior outside hitter Luca Curci (15 kills, three blocks, five digs, two aces), Pepperdine-bound senior middle blocker James Eadie (11 kills, four blocks), sophomore outside hitter Riggs Guy (12 kills, three blocks, four aces), junior outside hitter Jake Read (nine kills, including three on the final four points, two aces) and senior setter Cole McKibbin (54 assists).
Sophomore outside hitter Sterling Foley (14 kills), senior opposite Jake Olson (10 kills, two aces, no relation), junior opposite George Bruening (eight kills, seven blocks) and senior setter Jordan Cortens (32 assists) paced CdM, which is now 14-5 overall and 2-2 in the Surf League.
“We just didn’t really believe in ourselves ...,” Cortens said, “I thought we could have played better, but at the end of the day, it was about honoring Matt.”
Said Thompson: “The fact that we battled with them, I think that’s what Matt would have wanted. He would want to battle, he’d want both sides erupting, both teams looking to their teammates to succeed. Matt was the No. 1 teammate. He was the guy.”
Sailors head coach Eric Vallely, whose team shared the first two Surf League titles with Corona del Mar, was, of course, pleased with his team’s performance and accomplishment. And, just as much, to be part of the festivities.
“Coach Conti said it perfect [in his speech],” said Vallely, a Balboa Bay coach. “Matt was a great kid who affected a lot of people around him. Great personality, and there’s not a day goes by that the volleyball community, especially the local one, doesn’t miss him. I think it’s really neat that they took the initiative to do something nice, and hopefully his memory will go on.
“In the club scene, a lot of CdM kids and Newport Harbor kids are on the same team, and even though he went to school [at CdM], he meant as much to us as to anybody.”
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