CdM sweeps again
REDONDO BEACH — As one of three senior starters, Will Hunter helps shape the core values of a strong Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team.
In a three-set victory at Redondo Union in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Hunter also provided great value at the core of the Sea Kings’ hitting attack.
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FOR THE RECORD
May 13, 12:48 p.m.: A previous version of this post misspelled the surname of one of the players. He is Will Hunter, not Hunting.
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The 6-foot-4 middle blocker pounded 12 kills to share team-high honors with senior outside hitter Sam Kobrine to help the Sea Kings claim a 31-29, 25-17, 25-20 triumph.
The win propels CdM (25-5) into the quarterfinals against No. 4-seeded Huntington Beach (28-1) on Saturday at a site to be determined.
Hunter and 6-6 junior Mitch Haly (six kills and a team-best four block assists), helped Coach Steve Conti’s squad exploit smaller Sea Hawks middle blockers to give the visitors a consistent edge.
“I thought we had some advantages in the middle, just experience-wise and a little size-wise,” Conti said. “We have a setter [senior Matt Ctvrtlik] who can put our middles in a good spot and we have pretty good ball control, so that helps us utilize our middle attack.”
Sophomore Kevin Kobrine added six kills, while sophomore Brandon Browning added four as the Sea Kings earned their eighth straight victory, all of which have been sweeps.
The sweep streak was jeopardized by the fired-up hosts, who seized leads of 3-0, 13-8 and 15-12, in the opening set. Redondo (21-13), which finished one match behind Bay League co-champions Mira Costa (the No. 1 seed) and Palos Verdes, had two set points (serving for the win 24-23 and 25-24).
But a quick-set kill by Hunter evened the score, 25-25, and another Hunter delivery in the middle gave the Sea Kings a 27-26 advantage.
But CdM needed its fifth set point to earn its 22nd straight set victory, which was finalized by a Kevin Kobrine tip.
CdM, which had six serving errors in the opening set, settled down and controlled the match in the final two games. This stability helped CdM continue in a Division 1 bracket that Conti said is the deepest in his 25 seasons of coaching in Orange County, the last 21 at CdM.
“Whoever wins this tournament is going to be a true champion, because they are going to have to go through some good teams,” Conti said. “This [Redondo] team concerned me and this was a tough second-round match, compared to some other years, which just shows how deep the field is this year.”
The Sea Kings, for whom Ctvrtlik had 34 assists, will face Huntington Beach for the first time this season on Saturday.
Hunter said CdM is 0-4 in the previous two seasons against the Oilers, who are vying for an unprecedented fourth straight section crown.
“I think we played a little better in the second round than we did in the first and I think we’ll get better, especially defensively,” Conti said. “I think we had a fair amount of unforced errors to start the match and I think as we go through this tournament, each round we’re going to need to clean that stuff up. We’re definitely going to have a tougher opponent in Huntington Beach in the next round.”
Sam Kobrine, bound for UCLA, added two block assists and one ace, while Kevin Kobrine led the winners with two aces.
Hunter and Ctvrtlik also added aces, as CdM had only four service errors in the final two sets.
Redondo, which was led by 6-7 USC-bound senior opposite Lucas Lassone (14 kills), as well as 6-2 junior middle Kai Osagie (10 kills), missed five serves in each set, including match point.
The Sea Hawks had just one two blocks.
Sophomore libero Patrick Paragas also contributed for the Sea Kings, who have swept 21 matches this season.
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Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
