Daily Pilot Boys’ Volleyball Dream Team: CdM’s Mitch Haly followed older brother’s footsteps to the top
On the day of his high school graduation last week, Corona del Mar’s Mitch Haly went to John Wayne Airport to pick up his older brother, Spencer. He looked forward to it.
“I can finally say to him, ‘I’m almost even with you,’” Haly said.
Haly’s senior year on the volleyball court turned out a lot like his brother’s from six years ago.
They played the same middle blocker position for the Sea Kings. They led CdM to Pacific Coast League and CIF Southern Section titles. They earned Pacific Coast League MVP and CIF Southern Section Player of the Year awards.
If there’s one thing Haly has over Spencer, it’s that in his final year he took home of the Daily Pilot Boys’ Volleyball Dream Team Player of the Year honor.
Haly capped a remarkable run, playing at his best in the last of the three sports he started in at CdM this school year. There was football in the fall, basketball in the winter and volleyball in the spring.
His three coaches — Dan O’Shea, Ryan Schachter and Steve Conti — called the 6-foot-6 Haly the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. O’Shea loved his competitiveness in football, Schachter his enthusiasm in basketball and Conti his work ethic in volleyball.
All of those traits translated into success, as Haly helped CdM finish atop the league in all three sports. Two of those were undefeated league championships, in football and volleyball. In those sports as a senior, Haly also played for section championships.
There are not many athletes who can say they started in a section championship game in football in December, and then in a section championship match in May. Haly is one of the few who can say he made a difference in both deep postseason runs.
While he came up short in football, CdM losing in the Division 4 final in double overtime, Haly went out a Division 1 champion in volleyball.
Reaching the top in the sport he has a future in meant a lot to Haly, especially after the Sea Kings fell short the past two years, losing in five sets each time in the section finals. To get there, CdM had to get past Los Angeles Loyola, the same program that beat the Sea Kings a year ago.
“All of us kind of came together and talked before the [match], saying, ‘We’re not losing to this team again,’” Haly said. “We lost a heartbreaker last year in five sets. We lost to them [in five sets] when we went up there [for a nonleague match] this year. We were not losing to that team.”
Haly and the Sea Kings wound up stunning everyone in the section finale, including themselves.
And it was not because they won, but it was how they won. The No. 3-seeded Sea Kings swept No. 1 Loyola 25-22, 32-30, 26-24 at Cerritos College, winning the section’s premier division for the first time in 17 years.
Haly became the third member in his immediate family to play in a section volleyball finale in their senior year. Spencer won it in Division 2 in 2011, and their mother Mary Ann, fell short with the CdM girls’ volleyball team in the Division 4-A final in 1982.
For Haly, the section finals appearance marked one of six he made while at CdM. Two came in football, the first as a freshman call-up in 2013 and three years later as a senior, one in basketball as a sophomore in 2014-15, and three straight in volleyball. Haly lost more than he won on this stage, going 1-1 in football, 0-1 in basketball and 1-2 in volleyball, but he said those experiences taught him to never give up.
“I just kind of learned from my brothers, who played in a lot of big games,” said Haly, referring to Spencer and Tyler, the oldest of three boys who played football and volleyball at CdM before graduating in 2009. “Don’t underestimate what the little things can do and just work hard in practice, and just having that peace of mind that you did everything you could. They just wanted to make sure that I didn’t have any regrets.”
Haly, who finished with 187 kills and 74 total blocks, said he left CdM with no what-ifs. He definitely left a winner, especially in the Battle of the Bay rivalry against Newport Harbor.
Haly went a perfect 12-0, beating the Sailors five times in volleyball, four times in basketball and three times in football. The last victory against Newport Harbor came in front of a sold-out crowd at CdM in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Regional Division I playoffs, allowing the Sea Kings to make their fourth consecutive trip to the regional volleyball finals.
“There’s nothing better than high school sports and playing in front of that huge crowd,” said Haly, adding that he will miss playing for CdM, which went 33-4 overall.
The 19-year-old is heading to USC to continue his playing career. During his time in college, Haly wants to play for an NCAA men’s volleyball national crown as Spencer did with Stanford in 2014.
And don’t be surprised if he does. Haly has done everything else Spencer accomplished in high school volleyball, winning a league title, a section title and a regional title.
At Haly’s next graduation, he hopes he can tell Spencer that he has surpassed him.
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Below are the rest of the members on this year’s Dream Team:
Coach of the Year
Steve Conti
Corona del Mar
The third time proved to be the charm for Conti and the Sea Kings in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 finals. After seeing his team lose in five sets each time in the championship match the previous two years, CdM broke through this season, sweeping Los Angeles Loyola 25-22, 32-30, 26-24 to claim the top division for the first time since 2000. At the start of the playoffs,
Conti picked up his 500th career win in charge of the Sea Kings. Conti has guided CdM to the section finale 13 times during his 22 years at the school, winning it for the sixth time. The Sea Kings also made their fourth straight CIF Southern California Regional finals appearance, the last two in Division I and the first two in Division II. Under Conti, CdM has won 15 consecutive Pacific Coast League titles and 106 consecutive league matches, an Orange County record. Conti led CdM to a 33-4 overall record, marking the fifth time he has won 30 matches in a season.
Cole Pender
OH | Newport Harbor | Jr.
The junior outside hitter has turned the Sailors into the top program in the Sunset League with his versatility, lifting them to back-to-back first-place finishes. Newport Harbor went undefeated in league this year for the first time since 2011. The 6-foot-3 Pender also led Newport Harbor to its first
appearance in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs since 2008 and its first trip to the CIF Southern California Regional Division I playoffs. Pender earned the Sunset League MVP award, as well as All-Orange County first team and All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 accolades. The UCLA commit finished with 348 kills, a .340 hitting percentage, 49 service aces, 18 solo blocks, 34 block assists and 155 digs. Pender is a three-time Dream Team selection.
Alexander Anastassiades
OPP | Huntington Beach | Sr.
The 6-foot-8 opposite became the Oilers’ go-to player and he delivered in his senior year. Anastassiades was a first-team All-Sunset League and first-team All-Orange County pick. He recorded 423 kills, a .322 hitting percentage and 57 total blocks. Anastassiades, a native of Cyprus, made the all-tournament
team at the Tesoro Tournament and Orange County Championships. Behind Anastassiades, Huntington Beach shared second place in the Sunset League with Edison and reached the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Oilers have advanced to at least the quarterfinals every year since 2013. Anastassiades will continue his playing career at Long Beach State, and in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, he will play against his older brother, James Anastassiades, who is at Hawaii.
Patrick Paragas
S | Corona del Mar | Jr.
The junior took over the setting duties for standout Matt Ctvrtlik and he quarterbacked the Sea Kings to the prize that alluded them with Ctvrtlik running the offense the previous two years: a CIF Southern Section Division 1 title. Paragas moved the ball around to CdM’s plethora of options, and the
program went on to win the premier division for the first time in 17 years by sweeping Loyola in the section finals. His ace in Game 3 put CdM at match point, and the Sea Kings closed things out. Paragas picked up All-CIF Southern Section Division 1, first-team All-Orange County and first-team All-Pacific Coast League laurels. The 6-foot Paragas amassed 1,009 assists, 46 kills, 27½ total blocks, 116 digs and 38 aces.
Jake Meyer
MB | Corona del Mar | Sr.
The middle blocker proved to be a force for the Sea Kings in his senior year with his 6-foot-7 frame. Meyer’s length created problems for the opposition, as he altered shots on defense and blasted shots on offense. He finished
with 194 kills and 47 total blocks, garnering first-team All-Pacific Coast League, first-team All-Orange County and All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 laurels. Meyer helped CdM get over the hump in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match, recording eight kills, two solo blocks and six block assists in a 25-22, 32-30, 26-24 sweep of Loyola. Meyer and the Sea Kings avenged last year’s five-set loss to Loyola in the section finals. The Sea Kings won the program’s eighth section crown.
Spencer Lawrence
MB | Newport Harbor | Sr.
The middle blocker battled through a strained triceps injury and tightness in the back of his shoulder in his senior year, recovering in time to contribute to the Sailors’ second straight Sunset League championship and a trip to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, their longest
postseason run in nine years. Lawrence totaled 109 kills and had a .484 hitting percentage, making the All-Sunset League first team and the All-Orange County second team, and receiving All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 honors. Lawrence, who is 6-foot-5, is heading to Ohio State, which won its second NCAA Division I championship in a row and third since 2011. Spencer’s older brother, Kyle Lawrence, was on the Buckeyes’ 2011 national championship team.
Brandon Browning
OH | Corona del Mar | Jr.
The junior outside hitter proved his worth on a CdM roster loaded with talented attackers. Browning led the Sea Kings with 244 kills, to go with 32½ total blocks, 18 aces and 40 digs. He collected All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 and first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors, and he made the All-Orange County honorable mention list. Browning, who is 6-foot-4, produced one of his better performances in CdM’s five-set win against Laguna Beach in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, finishing with 12 kills on 18 attempts, with no errors. Before Browning, a USC commit, joins forces with two CdM teammates, seniors Mitch Haly and Clay Dickinson, in college, he will be one of four key players returning to CdM next year.
Cole Paxson
L | Laguna Beach | Sr.
The senior is heading to USC to play libero, but with the Breakers, he handled the libero and setting duties, resulting in another successful season. Paxson led Laguna Beach to its ninth consecutive undefeated Orange Coast League championship and 21st consecutive appearance in the CIF Southern Section quarterfinals. He helped extend the Breakers’ league winning streak to 88 matches. Paxson totaled 814 assists, 161 digs, 25 kills, 21 aces, three solo blocks and 22 block assists. He made the All-Orange Coast League first team and the All-Orange County second team. In a four-set upset against Trinity League champion Mater Dei in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs, Paxson finished with 46 assists, 15 digs, three block assists, one kill and one ace.
SECOND TEAM
Position, Name, School, Year
OH Noah Franklin, Huntington Beach, Sr.
OH Pete Obradovich, Laguna Beach, Sr.
MB Barry Greenough, Laguna Beach, Sr.
MB Ethan Talley, Newport Harbor, Jr.
OPP Kevin Kobrine, Corona del Mar, Jr.
S Landon Monroe, Newport Harbor, Sr.
L Diego Perez, Corona del Mar, Jr.
Twitter: @ByDCP
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