Sary leads OCVB to title

The Orange County Volleyball Club 17 Blue team, which featured MVP Cinnamon Sary of Newport Harbor High, went 11-0 to win the 17s national division title in the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships Saturday in Atlanta.

Tatum Norton of Newport Harbor and Ashley Cox were also named All-Americans as they earned all-tournament team honors with Sary.

Newport Harbor’s Biz Buckingham and Kasey Thompson, as well as Corona del Mar High’s Britton Taylor and Chrissy Watson were also a part of the championship.

OCVB dropped just three sets throughout the tournament. Charlie Brande, a former coach at CdM, Newport Harbor and UC Irvine, was the head coach of the OCVB team.

The champions also included: Jordyn Alessi, Carla Cantarella, Ashley Cox, Amy Cultra, Tyler Davis, Lauren Hoenecke and Jasmine Warmington.

“Cinnamon was a warrior,” Brande said when reached by phone. “She was always matched up with the best player on the team. She was just tough.”

Even though the OCVB team went undefeated, winning each match in the tournament proved to be a challenge, Brande said.

“We had to really battle, match after match,” Brande said. “We were undefeated, but they were all battles. We had to step up at the end. It was a situation in which you have to step up and fight and we really stepped up and fought. It was great.”

— From staff reports