Girls’ Volleyball Preview: CdM group focused
Three months ago, a photographer came out to shoot the Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team. Photographed inside the gym were five players and one coach.
The photo spread was for MaxPreps.com’s top-25 countdown, and the Sea Kings came in at No. 5 nationally. The players, Jessie Harris, Payton Carter, Natalia Bruening, Sydney Alacano and Carli Cuthbertson, and coach, Steve Astor, were all smiles, but they were doing it just for the camera.
“It was a neat thing for our program,” Astor said of the recognition, “but the most useless rankings are the preseason rankings.”
The only poll that matters to Astor is the one at the end of the regular season, the one that determines the top four seeds in the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs.
The Sea Kings have earned a top-four seed once under Astor, in his debut season two years ago, when they were No. 3. They enter Astor’s third season at CdM in the same spot, third in the preseason poll.
The expectations are always high with the Sea Kings, who are in search of their first section title in 11 years. They have made 18 section finals appearances in their storied history, but only half a dozen coaches have led the Sea Kings to a crown.
Astor is hoping to be the seventh coach to do so. He’s only 30 years old, he turns 31 next month, and he has a wealth of talent, including five underclassmen.
The five players he’s counting on to lead CdM are the same ones who were involved in the photo shoot in June. Harris, Carter, Bruening, Alacano and Cuthbertson are the only seniors on the team.
The quintet helped the Sea Kings get off to a rousing start last week, winning at No. 6-ranked Los Angeles Marymount, 19-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-19. Harris, mostly playing outside hitter, finished with 22 kills and 12 digs, while Bruening, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker, added eight kills, and Carter, a libero, recorded 19 digs.
“Every single one of our big matches last year was at home, and now most of them are away, which is good because we have to overcome the crowd and not being comfortable,” said Harris, whose team is at Laguna Beach, ranked No. 10 in Division 2AA, on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.
“For me, I’d really like to go as far as we did last year. No one thought we could beat [No. 2-seeded] Lakewood [in the quarterfinals] and we did. Everyone wants to go to the finals, and it would be meaningful if we did.”
Harris was an eighth-grader the last time CdM played for a section championship in 2011. She is now one of three three-year starters at CdM, joining Carter and Bruening.
The trio is also college bound, Harris to Princeton and Carter to Pepperdine, both to play volleyball, while Bruening is heading to UC Santa Barbara for basketball.
“This year’s group is the most focused I’ve ever seen,” said Astor, who lost five seniors off a team going 25-6 overall and 10-0 in Pacific Coast League play last year. “There’s just a great learning environment and everyone is receptive to everything we’re talking about.”
—
Here’s a look at the five Newport-Mesa girls’ varsity volleyball programs:
Corona del Mar Sea Kings
Coach: Steve Astor (third year)
2014 season: 25-6, 10-0 in the Pacific Coast League (first place); lost to Mater Dei in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs
Players to watch: S-OH-OPP Jessica Harris (Sr.); MB Natalia Bruening (Sr.); L Payton Carter (Sr.); OH-OPP Sydney Alacano (Sr.); S Alexa Bonanno (Jr.), S-OPP Ashley Humphreys (Soph.)
You should know: The Sea Kings open the season ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA preseason poll, behind No. 1 Redondo Union and No. 2 Mater Dei. Astor has led CdM to the semifinals and quarterfinals in his first two years with the program, each time seeing his team lose to Mater Dei. The Sea Kings began the year with a four-set win at No. 6 Los Angeles Marymount last week. The second match of the year is on the road and against a ranked team on Wednesday, when they travel to Laguna Beach, No. 10 in Division 2AA. Other tough nonleague matches include the Battle of the Bay at rival Newport Harbor on Sept. 16, at home against Villa Park, No. 3 in Division 1A, on Sept. 22, and at home against San Clemente on Sept. 24. The two tournaments CdM is in are the Dave Mohs Championships, which run this Friday through Saturday, with the final on Monday, and the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions (Oct. 30-31).
—
Costa Mesa Mustangs
Coach: Todd Hanson (third year)
2014 season: 10-12, 6-4 in the Orange Coast League (third place); lost at La Canada in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs
Players to watch: OH Isabella Maniaci (Sr.); S Kintak Keju (Jr.); MB Felicia Crenshaw (Soph.)
You should know: In a short period, Hanson has turned things around at Costa Mesa. Last year, he led the Mustangs to the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 2005, also the last time the program placed third in league, in the Golden West League back then. Hanson expects Costa Mesa, which last qualified for the playoffs in consecutive years in 2004-05, to return to the postseason. Laguna Beach has claimed the Orange Coast League every year since its inception in 2006, so second or third is the finish the Mustangs are aiming for in Hanson’s third year in charge. The team lost four key players to graduation, libero Karina Cruz, middle blocker Stephanie Willett, and outside hitters Kirsten Gyorgy and Catherine Krikorian, but Hanson likes this year’s crop of players. More of his players are competing on the club level, Crenshaw, Vanessa Maciel and Grace Ly. For the second straight year, the Mustangs are competing in the Dave Mohs Championships, which open Friday.
—
Estancia Eagles
Coach: Nick Singleton (second year)
2014 season: 4-14, 3-7 in the Orange Coast League (fifth place)
Players to watch: OH Sarah Graham (Soph.); MB McKenna Covey (Soph.); S Olivia Toohey (Jr.); OH Brandi White (Sr.), OH Samantha Haynes (Soph.), L Maddy Letterman (Sr.), S Dana Murphy (Sr.)
You should know: The Eagles have played three matches and they still haven’t held tryouts. With school starting this week, Singleton said he’s holding tryouts on Friday. Estancia is coming off a season in which it missed the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 2004. The good news is that the Eagles return every starter, except for one, Eliza Jason. The starters coming back are Graham, White, Haynes, Letterman and Murphy. Singleton said Graham, who suffered a knee injury last year, is on her way to fully recovering. A new addition is Toohey, who won’t be eligible until the Eagles’ second Orange Coast League match on Oct. 6 because she’s a transfer, said Singleton. Estancia opened the season with a win a win at Westminster last week, before losing at home to Irvine. Singleton said he knows the team to beat in league is Laguna Beach, but he believes his Eagles will challenge for first place. Estancia is at the Century Tournament on Sept. 19.
—
Newport Harbor Sailors
Coach: Dan Glenn (30th year)
2014 season: 14-14, 6-4 in the Sunset League (fourth place); lost at Los Angeles Marymount in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs
Players to watch: OH Remy Wilson (Sr.); S Ellie Hagadorn (Sr.); OPP Amanda Walker (Sr.); OH Jessy Rath (Sr.); L Kate Hefner (Sr.); OH Madison Holland (Sr.); DS Paige Hornbaker (Sr.); DS Alexia Aguirre (Sr.); OH Jaclyn Brown (Sr.); MB Rachel Hellinger (Sr.); MB Vivian Donovan (Soph.); OH Claire Covina (Soph.)
You should know: Glenn enters his 30th season at the helm of the Sailors, and with 10 seniors, he’s hoping for a better season than last year. Newport Harbor placed fourth in the Sunset League a year ago, its worst finish during its nine years in the league under Glenn, and it lost in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs for the second straight time. Wilson, who will play sand volleyball at UCLA, Hagadorn, Rath, Donovan and Brown are returning starters, while Glenn has two transfers, Holland, from Boulder Creek in Anthem, Ariz., and Hornbaker, from Palisades. The Sailors open at Long Beach on Wednesday, before playing in the Dave Mohs Championships on Friday and Saturday, the finals are on Monday. Newport Harbor plays host to the Battle of the Bay rivalry against CdM on Sept. 16. The following day, Newport Harbor travels to compete in the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas on Sept. 18-19. The last tournament for the Sailors is the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions (Oct. 30-31).
—
Sage Hill Lightning
Coach: Dan Thomassen (12th year)
2014 season: 25-4, 12-0 in the Academy League (first place); won the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA title; lost to Saddleback Valley Christian in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III finals
Players to watch: MB Jamie Dailey (Jr); S Jade Blevins (Soph.); L Sahar Rohani (Jr.); L Lina Aluzri (Sr.); OH Emily Lassiter (Jr.); MB Isabel Shapiro (Sr.); S Natalie Moshayedi (Sr.), DS Desiree Moshayedi (Sr.)
You should know: Thomassen has guided the Lightning to four straight CIF Southern Section finals appearances, winning three in the process. Sage Hill earned the top ranking in the Division 3AA preseason poll, and it will try to make a run at another section title without three vital parts. Gone are Kekai Whitford, Maddy Abbott and Halland McKenna, who are playing at Loyola Marymount University, Michigan and Stanford, respectively. Sage Hill has another robust nonleague schedule, competing at the Dave Mohs Championships this weekend, at home against Santa Margarita, ranked No. 9 in Division 1AA, on Sept. 15, at Laguna Beach, No. 10 in Division 2AA, on Oct. 5, at home against Los Angeles Windward, No. 2 in Division 2A, on Oct. 12, and at Mater Dei, No. 2 in Division 1AA, on Oct. 14. Thomassen has six players in new spots, including Blevins, who moved from opposite to setter. Thomassen, who led Sage Hill to its first outright Academy League title in the program’s history last year, said league is up for grabs.
