Sea Kings move on
For the fourth time in six years, Corona del Mar High is still competing this late in the boys’ volleyball season. The last three times the Sea Kings took part in the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs they finished as champions.
This year’s road to the top will be much different and much tougher.
The Sea Kings are no longer in Division II, which they won the past two years. They moved up to the premier division for the first time.
The Sea Kings’ debut was a success. Third-seeded CdM opened the SoCal Regional Division I playoffs with a 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-13 win against No. 6 San Diego Cathedral Catholic at home on Tuesday.
Sam Kobrine led the way for CdM with 17 kills, five digs, two service aces, two solo blocks and one block assist, while Will Hunter added 12 kills and five block assists. Matt Ctvrtlik finished with 33 assists, four digs, three solo blocks, four block assists, three kills and one ace.
The senior trio stood out in CdM’s first match since it suffered a devastating five-set loss to Los Angeles Loyola in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Saturday.
“I don’t know if we played at the level that we did the last couple of weeks,” CdM Coach Steve Conti said of the Sea Kings’ performance against the Dons, (22-11), the CIF San Diego Section Open Division runner-up finisher. “Some of that may be due to the disappointment [in losing in five sets in the section finals for the second straight year], but [I was] trying to say that the best way to deal with that disappointment was to be able come out and play a good match tonight. I don’t know if we played as good as we were capable of playing, and at this point of the season, you just want to play good enough to be able to move on. But I think in the next round we’re going to need to play better to have a chance to play on Saturday.”
Another shot at Loyola is what CdM wants, and it sure looks like it will happen.
The Sea Kings and Cubs, the top seed, each have to win once more to set up another showdown between the two storied programs. They have met twice, each going to Loyola, during the regular season at CdM on April 16 and in the section finals at Cerritos College last Saturday.
This Saturday CdM and Loyola can get together at Edison High, the site of the SoCal Regional Division I finals. In the previous six years that Loyola has participated in the SoCal Regional Division I playoffs, it has reached the finale every time.
First comes the next round for CdM (28-6), which plays host to a familiar opponent on Thursday at 7 p.m. Beckman (35-6) earned a third chance to face the Sea Kings, the lone team to beat the Patriots in Pacific Coast League play.
Pacific Coast League champion CdM topped Beckman twice, but this Beckman team doesn’t look like the one the Sea Kings swept at home on March 31 or on the road on April 22. The No. 7 Patriots are coming off a 19-25, 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 16-14 come-from-behind upset at No. 2 Clovis Buchanan on Tuesday.
“I already got a text they were down, 14-10, in the fifth set and came back and won, 16-14,” Conti said of the Patriots. “I think they’re going to be coming in with some confidence.
“We were definitely rooting for Beckman, not because we want to play [the Patriots, but] because we were hoping not to have to travel 10 hours in a day [to play in the semifinals].”
If Buchanan had won, CdM would be making the 272-mile trip to the Central Valley. The higher seed in this tournament plays at home, except in the finale, which is on a neutral site.
The Sea Kings have one more contest in front of the home crowd this year.
They should give the fans another win. They’re the favorites against Beckman, but Hunter knows the Patriots will be ready.
The Patriots have been playing extremely well in the postseason. They pulled off two stunning wins in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, knocking off No. 3-seeded Newport Harbor in the second round and No. 6 Palos Verdes in the quarterfinals.
“We’re pretty fired up,” Hunter said. “We know they’re going to be fired up to play us because we beat them twice in league. That’s going to be a good rivalry [match].”
