Girls’ Volleyball: CdM rallies back to eliminate Edison

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball coach Steve Astor did something drastic in the third set of Thursday night’s CIF Southern Section Division 1AA second-round playoff match.

Astor said he went away from the 6-2 rotation, moving senior co-captain Jessie Harris from setter to the position she has been playing for much of the season, outside hitter.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the saying goes. CdM was just a set away from its season being over.

If there’s one thing to learn about Harris in her four years on varsity on CdM, it’s that she’s clutch. She delivered in the end.

Harris had five of her 20 kills in the fifth set as Corona del Mar extended its season, rallying for an epic 19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12 victory at Edison.

CdM is in the quarterfinals for the third time in Astor’s three seasons and plays at No. 2-seeded Temecula Great Oak on Saturday night. Great Oak beat Orange Lutheran in four sets in another second-round match.

“It’s a pretty big switch,” Astor said of moving Harris. “We haven’t done that this year, especially in the middle of the match. Not that kind of switch ... we came down to crunch time and we went to Jessie. She wanted the ball. I call plays sometimes, and she’s telling me, ‘Hey, give me the ball.’ That’s what I love about her. She wants the ball in the big situations.”

But this was a team victory for Corona del Mar (23-4). Freshman middle blocker Kendall Kipp had a career-high 24 kills to lead all players, while senior middle blocker and co-captain Natalia Bruening had six kills and five blocks.

The third senior co-captain, Payton Carter, had 18 digs, and Harris 11 digs. Sophomore Ashley Humphreys had 13 digs and more than 30 assists. It was Humphreys, a sophomore, who also delivered the match-clinching kill.

CdM rallied from a 12-10 deficit in Game 5. Harris, one of the Sea Kings’ most reliable servers, went back and served out the match.

Astor also highlighted the play of sophomore Christina Davenport, who again came off the bench for some big kills, four in this match. The biggest one came at 12-12 in the fifth set, after a great dig by Carter.

“I was just not going to let anything drop at that point,” Carter said.

A block by Bruening gave the Sea Kings match point, which they converted on Humphreys’ kill.

It was the end of a big day for Bruening, who signed her letter of intent for women’s basketball with UC Santa Barbara in a ceremony at CdM earlier Thursday. She had to refocus for the volleyball match at night.

“Grit,” she said of CdM’s win. “It was all grit ... I think [this match] will help us in the next round.”

Junior Hannah Phair led Edison (20-10), the second-place team from the Sunset League, with 21 kills. Sophomore Lindsey Sparks added 14 kills.

The Chargers led for most of Game 1, then came back from an 11-5 deficit in Game 2 to put the Sea Kings in a serious hole.

“They were a lot more aggressive in the first two sets,” Astor said of the Chargers, who had no seniors in their starting lineup. “[Junior outside hitter Cassidy Dennison, who had 10 kills] is super-aggressive ... and [Phair] is just a stud. We couldn’t stop [Phair]. They were just ready to go. They were so well-prepared.”

CdM won Game 3 but trailed Game 4, 22-20, before rallying to extend the match. Harris had three kills late before an Edison net violation at 24-23 forced the fifth game.

“We weren’t going to end our season on that note,” Harris said. “We all thought we could do it.”

Kipp and Bruening certainly got it done in the middle for the Sea Kings, the Pacific Coast League champions.

“We have two of the best middles in CIF,” Harris said. “Kendall doesn’t play like a freshman, which I think is just the biggest deal for us.”

Now the Sea Kings will match up with Great Oak for the first time this season. They can look to the recent past for motivation. Last year they upset No. 2-seeded Lakewood in the quarterfinals.

And they won’t feel bad about making the long trip to Temecula.

“We play well on the road,” Carter said. “The atmosphere doesn’t affect us.”

Neither does going to five sets. Astor credits the team’s maturity.

“Our seniors are our rocks,” he said. “They have been all year. I’m just so impressed with the maturity of our team, all of our team. It’s not about age, it’s about maturity, and they’re a pretty mature group.”