Not at CdM’s level yet

It was only a Wednesday night, but the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team decided it was a good time for a block party.

No cover charge, only host Laguna Beach running for cover after the Sea Kings used big blocks to sweep the nonleague match against their rival, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20.

Sophomore middle blocker Spencer Haly had five blocks, senior setter Connor Bannan had four and junior outside Weston Nielsen added three for CdM (6-2).

They came at big times, too, like in the first game when Corona del Mar used three straight blocks — two by Nielsen and one by Haly — to grab a 12-5 lead.

They were part of an 8-0 run that gave the Sea Kings early momentum.

“They passed better than we did, and their block was very nice tonight,” Laguna Beach Coach Lance Stewart said. “Part of that was our passing, and part of that is they’re just good blockers. They’re just a better team than we are right now. ... We’ve got to finish more plays, and we’ve got to control the first ball over the net more consistently. When we were controlling the ball over the net, that’s when we were able to go on runs and hang with them.”

That was the case early in Games 2 and 3 for the Breakers (9-2). Laguna, which won the Foothill Tournament last weekend and had won seven straight matches, held early leads in each game against CdM.

In Game 3, it was a 6-1 advantage on junior Travis Woloson’s kill off an overpass. Woloson had a team-high 11 kills for the Breakers, followed by fellow junior Scotty Chapel with nine.

But CdM Coach Steve Conti didn’t call timeout. Instead, he watched CdM battle back and tie the score at 12.

“They started with a couple good servers, Robbie [McKnight] and Cooper [Gwaltney],” Nielsen said. “It was pretty much our passing off that serve, and once we got that down, we just took over from there. I don’t think coach wanted to call a timeout. He wanted us to come together as a team and figure out what we’re all about. I think we did that, and even though we were down, we came back.”

Laguna Beach didn’t quit, even down match point at 24-17 in Game 3. A kill by senior Jake Killian sparked a 3-0 run that brought the Breakers within 24-20, but then the Sea Kings ended it on — what else? — a block.

Gwaltney and senior Seth Morris had seven and five kills, respectively, for Laguna, and junior Reed Thompson added three.

“It’s still early,” said Stewart, whose team is ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division II poll. “We’re just not at a consistency level we need to get to, with all our skills. It’s just little things we have to do, and we’re not doing them. We’re doing them some of the time, but we’re not doing them as often as we need to.”

In earlier action, Laguna stormed to the title at the Foothill Tournament on Saturday at Irvine High. The Breakers first won their two pool play games, topping Saddleback, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9 and then Laguna Hills, 25-11, 25-20.

In the quarterfinals, the Breakers beat Marina, 25-16, 25-22, then topped Fountain Valley, 25-20, 25-17 in the semifinals.

Laguna Beach beat Dana Hills, 25-23, 25-21, in the championship match to claim the Foothill Tournament title for the first time since 2005.

Woloson was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, tallying 36 kills, 18 digs and 58 assists throughout the matches.

Chapel (40 kills on the tournament) and Gwaltney (38) also made the all-tournament team.

“We played some good volleyball, not quite the level of a Corona del Mar team, but [we beat] some good teams with good players,” Stewart said. “We passed real well in that tournament.”

Laguna Beach now prepares for an even tougher tournament, the Orange County Championships, which begin today. The Breakers are seeded second in their pool, behind Orange Lutheran, and they open tournament pool-play against Woodbridge at 4 p.m. at Fountain Valley High.

Play continues through Saturday and the Gold Division championship match is at 7 p.m. Monday at Edison High.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at [email protected].