Girls’ Volleyball: Sea Kings stay alive
LA CANADA — A playoff pendulum that saw momentum swing for and against the visiting Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team Thursday evening turned what seemed to be a sure victory into a nail-biting contest.
Nonetheless, the Sea Kings remained calmed in the deciding fifth game and put away host Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 15-8 in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs.
With the victory, Pacific Coast League champion Corona del Mar (23-5) earned advancement to Saturday’s divisional quarterfinals against Moore League champion Lakewood at Corona del Mar.
“To be honest, I wasn’t too concerned about losing because I believed we’d win,” Sea Kings Coach Steve Astor said. “I thought we made a few mistakes to let them back, but I thought they were phenomenal in the fourth game.
“Once we got to the fifth game, I just knew that conditioning and experience were on our side.”
The Sea Kings entered the fifth game coming off their worst effort in the fourth game as the host Tologs (26-7), the Mission League runner-up, raced to an 11-2 advantage before posting a 25-19 victory.
Yet, whatever bad vibes Corona del Mar picked up in the third and fourth games were quickly dispelled as the Sea Kings rolled to an 8-3 advantage in the fifth game.
Corona del Mar senior outside hitter Katie Craig, who finished with a team-high 18 kills, chipped in two kills to the run, while Sydney Alacano added a big stuff.
While the Tologs attempted to rally, they never cut the deficit to less than four points and were eventually put away when Craig connected on a match-winning kill.
“This was just such a nerve-wracking match,” Craig said. “I knew that even when we won the first two sets, they were going to fight. I’m just so happy we were able to win.”
The Sea Kings opened with a 25-21 victory highlighted by four blocks and one kill from senior middle blocker Samantha Jones, who finished with eight stuffs on the evening.
Junior outside hitter Jessie Harris (15 kills) delivered the win with a kill.
In the second game, Corona del Mar turned in a pivotal 3-0 spurt late that flipped a 22-20 deficit into a 23-22 lead on a kill from Brooke Cuthberston.
While Flintridge Sacred Heart pulled even on a kill from sophomore outside hitter Kayla Lund, who led all players with 31 kills and 16 digs, the Sea Kings scored the final two points, including on a game-winning kill from Craig to secure a 25-23 victory.
Flintridge Sacred Heart responded to the 0-2 hole with a hard-fought 25-23 victory in the third set in which the Tologs scored the final two points on a combo block, followed by a kill from Megan Bacall.
In the fourth game, Corona del Mar rallied from a nine-point deficit to close within 13-10.
The comeback fell short, though, as the Tologs won the fourth game, 25-19, on a kill from Clara Gross.
“We received a great challenge from Sacred Heart, as was expected,” Astor said. “Now we’re ready for the next round.”