Showing hustle and heart

In an intense girls’ volleyball match Monday that carried huge

ramifications in the race for the Pacific Coast League championship,

host Corona del Mar survived Laguna Beach, 26-24, 25-22, 19-25,

23-25, 15-12.

Laguna, with two freshmen in its starting lineup, pushed the

senior-seasoned Sea Kings to the brink and was impressive in coming

back from a two-game deficit to force a decisive fifth game.

The loss dropped the Breakers to 3-2 in league. A win would have

brought Laguna into a first-place tie.

With the triumph, the Sea Kings kept their grip on first-place,

improving to 5-0.

Stephanie Darnall led Laguna with 30 kills, which was also high

for the entire match.

Darnall also had a team-best 21 digs.

Dana Hutchinson also had a big match for Laguna with 18 kills and

17 digs. Blakely Burns and Jilly Peterson had 11 and 10 digs,

respectively, and Paige Obradovich recorded 50 set assists.

Laguna visited Northwood Wednesday, and returns to the court

Tuesday to host Calvary Chapel.

In another key clash between the two schools, Corona del Mar

handed visiting Laguna a 13-5 setback in girls’ tennis.

Brian Ricker’s squad jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first

round and maintained its lead.

Ricker coached Laguna just last year.

Junior Claire Rietsch suffered her first loss of the year, a 6-4

upset to Sea Kings freshman Allie Walters.

Rietsch rebounded to win her next two and the Breakers’ No. 2

doubles team of Katie Ochwat and Lauren Thigpen won two of three.

Laguna’s Tuesday PCL match at Northwood was rained out.

The Breakers were scheduled to host Calvary Chapel Thursday and

return to the court Tuesday to host Tesoro.

In boys’ water polo, Laguna trounced Tesoro, 12-7, in PCL action.

The Breakers opened up a 6-3 halftime lead, then put the game away

by outscoring the Titans, 5-2, in the third quarter.

It was 11-3 at the start of fourth quarter, and Breakers coach

Rick McKee substituted freely.

Ryan Fair’s four goals topped Laguna in scoring.

Mike Dick contributed three goals, Trevor Frimond scored twice and

Jeremy Frimond, Adam Kaplan and Cedric Channels each scored once.

Bret Burge finished with nine saves.

The win evened the Breakers’ league mark at 1-1.

“The guys are rebounding really well after the flu bug hit and

slowed us down a bit,” McKee said. “We are playing really well right

now.”

Laguna took on University Wednesday in a Pacific Coast League

match and Newport Beach Thursday in a key nonleague clash.

Neither score was available at press time.

The Breakers next will compete in the North Orange County

Tournament, which begins at various pool sites beginning Monday.

In boys’ cross country, Laguna ran its junior varsity and

frosh/soph squads at the prestigious Orange County Championships

Saturday at Irvine Regional Park.

“I opted to step up the training load with my varsity and prep

them for the Mt. SAC Invitational,” Laguna boys coach Dave Brobeck

said, referring to today’s meet, which is one of the largest cross

country events in the nation. “This will be our biggest race to date

and we will be running in the division four sweepstakes race.”

Laguna enters today’s Mount SAC Invitational ranked second in the

CIF-Southern Section Division IV poll.

At the Orange County Championships, the top boy on the Laguna

ladder was Sheldon Eaton, whose 16:56 was the 21st fastest time in

the county for a freshman.

In girls’ golf, Corona del Mar, behind Katie Albright’s 3-over-par

38 which earned her medalist honors, made Laguna its fourth

consecutive PCL victim by defeating the Breakers, 211-265, in a match

played at Newport Beach Country Club.