CdM features young, old

With 10 new players on the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team this year, Steve Conti was hardly expecting to see the same level of sophistication that led to a CIF Southern Section Division II title last season.

That sort of playing — “with a sense of purpose,” the CdM head man called it — takes some time to develop.

The question is, will the week between the Sea Kings’ first appearance this season and the start of the highly competitive Best of the West tournament be enough?

The Sea Kings swept Capistrano Valley Friday in their season opener, winning, 26-24, 25-27, 25-23, but they looked like a team with 10 new players.

Gone are CIF Division II Player of the Year, setter Phil Bannan, and first-team, All-CIF outside hitter Blaine Nielsen. Their surnames still lurk on the roster, however. Both Connor Bannan and Weston Nielsen are attempting to follow in their brothers’ footsteps as juniors this year, particularly Connor Bannan, who was setting for the Sea Kings Friday.

“Connor takes the ball in a little bit deeper than Phil does,” senior middle blocker Gus Ellis said after the match, as he smiled at the younger Bannan. “Connor doesn’t shoot the ball necessarily as fast as Phil does, but he’s very, very good and he’s still got the mental strength of his brother, and for his size, he puts up a pretty good block.”

Ellis is one of four returning starters for CdM. Senior setter/outside hitter Jeff Carlson, senior libero Spencer Brown, and junior middle blocker Dylan Davis also started for the Sea Kings last year.

The Sea Kings swept Santa Barbara to win the Best of the West tournament last season, but Friday, Conti expressed concern about the mistakes CdM was committing against the Cougars. The leadership he was looking for wasn’t exactly radiating from the gym floor. The passing was still a bit discordant — there weren’t really any long rallies for points — and the defense spotty.

“I think what we miss, even with four starters back, is some of the intangibles that those seniors did for us last year, and that’s the thing I think we’re really missing right now,” Conti said. “We’re missing some leadership. We’re missing some guys that had a lot of drive. The group we have here is pretty committed, but there’s a reason why we did what we did last year. That was a pretty special group. So, hopefully we can learn how to have a little bit more drive in practice.”

The team spent an hour last week on serving during a practice drill because it took so long to get it right. Conti thought the team’s unforced errors Friday were symptomatic of that.

“I’d like to see our seniors play like they’re seniors,” Conti said. “What I mean by that is, understanding that each time you step on the floor, it’s one step closer to your high school career ending ... It’s like we’re playing a little bit quiet. It’s not like we’re playing with any kind of sense of purpose.”

But last year’s Sea kings weren’t perfect either. In fact, Conti cited the Best of the West tournament as a defining moment for the team. Ellis thought this season could go the same way.

Once the younger Sea Kings are staring down top opponents such as Santa Barbara, Mira Costa, even Punahou of Hawaii, Ellis said, they’ll find the fire that makes for more inspired volleyball.

It will certainly happen by the time the Battle of the Bay rolls around, which this year will be held in UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center May 2. Newport Harbor will also be at the Best of the West tourney.

“I think one thing that’s going to help us is if we do get to play some of those teams where we kind of have a little bit of bad blood between us and the other program,” Ellis said. “It’s going to make it easier for the younger kids to come out because you don’t necessarily have to have played in those intense matches against good teams with a long rivalry. You kind of pick it up right where the last team left off.”

As for the seniors, the confidence is already there. One not-so-hot performance to open the season isn’t going to shatter their confidence if they feel things will improve.

“I think everyone’s just kind of scared because it’s they’re first game,” Carlson said. “We’ll get better though.”

Ellis nodded his head in agreement.

“I think being on top like we are now, being seniors, there’s a little more sense of ownership on our part,” said Ellis, bound for Stanford. “I think we’ve been waiting for the moment where we can bark orders and whatnot. Now that the opportunity’s here, maybe not tonight, but in the future, we’re definitely going to take advantage of that.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].