Brande: Battle of the Bay for a good cause

The annual Battle of the Bay girls’ volleyball match between Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar is Saturday at 7 p.m. at CdM’s gymnasium. As always, when these two teams meet, it will be a battle to remember.

The coaches, Dan Glenn at Newport Harbor, and Marissa Booker from CdM, have labeled it as, “Dig Pink Night.” Both teams will be in uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness. All proceeds from the concessions and from a donation/contribution station, will be donated to the Hoag Breast Care Center (hoagbreastcarecenter.com).

“The reasons that we choose this organization was because we wanted to give back and say thank you to an organization that has serviced or will service our grandmothers, mothers, sisters or ourselves,” Booker said.

When CdM and Newport meet in volleyball, it is always exciting.

With large crowds and the “Battle of the Bay” mentality, both teams play at a heightened level. It typically goes five games and showcases the outstanding volleyball talent that these two schools have exhibited for over 30 years.

With CdM now in CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA, this could be a preview of what could be a CIF final with Newport and CdM. There have been four CIF title matchups and one state championship meeting between the two. CdM and Newport have also won a combined nine state championships.

This should be a great match with a great charity to support. It is only a varsity match on Saturday with a Friday match of the “mini Battle of the Bay” with frosh-soph at 4:30 p.m. and junior varsity at 6, also at CdM.

CHARLIE BRANDE is a former head volleyball coach at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar.