Sea Kings win in heat
LAGUNA BEACH — It rarely gets hot at Laguna Beach High, but inside its gym on Wednesday night, it felt like 100 degrees. The conditions surprised Corona del Mar Coach Steve Astor, who used to be an assistant with the Breakers.
“It’s probably the hottest Laguna match ever,” Astor said.
The heat wasn’t going to stop Astor’s Sea Kings, though. The Sea Kings defeated the Breakers, 25-19, 14-25, 25-16, 25-17, giving the girls’ volleyball team its second win against a ranked opponent in as many tries this year.
The Sea Kings (2-0) might be the No. 3 team in the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA preseason poll, but MaxPreps.com has them No. 1 in the country. At times, CdM looked like a national power.
Jessie Harris, a senior outside hitter, led CdM (2-0) with 18 kills and 15 assists. Freshman middle blocker Kendall Kipp contributed nine kills and two service aces, while senior middle blocker Natalia Bruening added seven kills.
Eight of Harris’ kills came in the opening set. In the next set, she had half that amount and CdM lost, dropping its first set since the opening one last week at Los Angeles Marymount, ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA poll.
The Sea Kings had to regroup after a sloppy Game 2. They committed a handful of violations and four service errors.
“They played a different pace than we do, so they kind of controlled the pace a little more in the second set,” Astor said of the Breakers. “Our serving game wasn’t as good as it needs to be in the second set. I told them in between Games 2 and 3, ‘Just take a deep breath and trust what we do, work our system.’ It’s really good to see how we respond.”
The first four points in the third set belonged to CdM, which led by as many as 11. Kipp elevated her game in Game 3, recording five kills and a block.
The performance by 6-foot-3 Kipp impressed Astor.
“She’s not letting anything get to her,” Astor said. “She’s just kind of going in there and playing fearless.
“She got better since the last time she played. I was happy with her performance, especially at the service line.”
Another player that stood out to Astor was opposite Sydney Alacano, who finished with six kills. The senior turned in a steady match, moving the ball set her way, setting up the block, and slowing down Laguna Beach’s top lefty, Jamie Robbins, who had eight kills.
Robbins, a UCLA-bound senior opposite, is a talented player, but the Breakers, ranked No. 10 in Division 2AA, are still winless early on in the season. They have lost to the No. 1 and No. 5 teams in the nation. Last week, Santa Margarita, which won the prestigious Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii last month, swept Laguna Beach.
“Santa Margarita is not the strongest team,” said Laguna Beach Coach Raúl Papaleo, when comparing the Eagles to CdM. “They’re probably the best volleyball team out there now. They just play good, sound volleyball. They definitely take care of business. [They’re] a good passing team, just [have] good skills all around, and that’s what wins volleyball games in high school.
“I thought we did some good things [against CdM]. We need to find a way to be consistent and [be] able to play that way most of the match. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just good for a longer period of time.”
Laguna Beach and CdM return to action Friday, the first day of the three-day Dave Mohs Championships. Payton Carter, a Pepperdine-bound senior libero who had 10 digs and three aces, believes CdM will do well at the tournament.
The Sea Kings are the No. 3 seed and they play host to Bakersfield Centennial at 3:30 p.m. The other top-four seeded teams are No. 1 Santa Margarita, No. 2 Corona Santiago and No. 4 Huntington Beach.
The second home match for CdM on Friday is at 5:30 p.m. against Goleta Dos Pueblos. The third-and-final pool-play match at home is on Saturday at 8 a.m., when CdM gets Villa Park.
“We need to sharpen some rough edges a little bit,” Astor said, “but where we’re at in the season, it’s very correctable mistakes.”
