Sea Kings Add Another Volleyball Title to Their Impressive 2011 Resume

As the points clicked steadily toward “25” on the scoreboard in the closing minutes of Game 4, the Corona del Mar players could feel the crowd pulsating, pushing in closer around them, positioning themselves to storm the court for the last time this season, this championship season. Again they would not be turned away disappointed.

Three kills by Brennan Anderson and a shot attempt wide on championship point by Westlake was the crowning blow for the Sea Kings, who won their second CIF title in a week by overpowering the Warriors, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, Saturday evening in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 2 Championships at Irvine Valley College.

The Sea Kings finished their 2011 season with 32 wins in 36 matches, won the Pacific Coast League title at 10-0, and last week captured their seventh CIF Southern Section championship with a four-game victory over Laguna Beach in the Division 2 final. Saturday's four-game victory over the Warriors marked Corona del Mar's fourth CIF regional title (1993, 2007, 2008 and 2011), and, in the years to come, this volleyball team may well be considered one of the best in school history.

If anything, the Sea Kings are the best volleyball team in 2011.

“Perfect. Perfect game. Perfect season. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to my senior year,” said Spencer Haly, the Stanford-bound 6-foot-7 senior middle blocker, who finished with six kills and five blocks, including the one that won Game 3 for a 2-1 advantage. “We came out a little shaky to start the game, but it ended perfectly.”

For the third time in its last four matches, Corona del Mar dropped the opening game by a large margin. The Warriors (29-6), the Marmonte League champions who lost to Mater Dei in the Division 1 section semifinals only to beat the Monarchs in the regional semifinals, had 13 kills and five blocks as they jumped to a 7-1 lead and never looked back to take Game 1.

“It’s been our M.O. [Modus Operandi] lately,” said senior Chip Zucker, the Sea Kings' starting libero. “We fought hard all season with everything we had. We left the gym tonight with all the fight we had left. I couldn’t have asked for a better game and a better season.”

Corona del Mar started playing better in Game 2 behind junior middleblocker Jack Reed, whose kill shot and three blocks turned a 4-3 deficit into an 11-8 lead. The Sea Kings kept the lead by keeping the Warriors off the net (zero blocks) while blocking five of their own. A kill by Reed made it 20-16, and consecutive kills by Haly and Parker Brown, his first of the match, gave the Sea Kings a five-point victory.

“We were really looking forward to this match all season, especially all the seniors,” said the 6-4 Reed, who finished with seven kills. “This win was totally different, though. Our goal all season was to win CIF [section]. This is like gravy on top.”

Buoyed by his game-winning shot, Parker took over the third game as setters Nick Curci (23 assists) and Joe Ctvrtlik (18 assists) continually fed the 6-3 junior on the outside or from the back row. Parker had four of the first five points and his three straight kills gave the Sea Kings a 20-19 lead. Minutes later, Parker’s ace serve pushed the lead to 23-21, and then at 23-all, Anderson’s kill shot and a Haly stuff block gave the Sea Kings the win and a 2-1 advantage.

“I came out in Game 1 and was trying too hard. I really wanted this win against those [Westlake] guys who we played against in the summer,” said Brown, who had 14 kills and seven digs. “I started to get it going in the second game and I thought I played well in the second, third and fourth games. This whole year we set goals and we succeeded in matching every one. We had high expectations for the year. I’m proud of my team and I’m proud of our year.”

Westlake returned to the block in Game 4, getting its fourth to take a 10-9 lead. But two kills by Anderson and another block by Haly gave the Sea Kings the lead for good, and a pair of kills by Brown and Reed made in 20-18, bringing the Sea Kings crowd to its feet and toward the court.

“I thought we had it then,” said Curci, who will be attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall. “We’ve played well in big games this year, like against Newport [Harbor in a five-game victory to end the regular season] and Santa Margarita [in the regional semifinals]. This game was a lot like those two. It’s been a great season and finish.”

Down the stretch, it was all Anderson. His kill down the line gave Corona del Mar a 22-18 lead. Another cross-court kill shot and one over two defenders gave the Sea Kings’ championship point, which the Warriors scored for them. Westlake was led by Keats Stanley with 14 kills and Colby Magorien. Travis Magorien had 37 assists.

“This season was such a learning experience for all of us,” said Anderson, who finished with 14 kills and 13 digs in his last match before leaving for Ohio State. “We came in as players and came together as a team. This game was a big game, but we’ve played well in big games all season. I can’t think of a better way to finish it.”

Evan Dean called his final match as a Sea King one to remember, especially for the eight seniors.

“In the game we overcame a lot of adversity,” said the Pepperdine-bound Dean, who had six kills. “For the third time we didn’t start out as a strong team but we kept our energy building throughout the match. During the season everyone talked about CIF. We definitely are the closest team that I’ve ever been on, and that’s because of the support of all the coaches and our families and the school and our community.”

After experiencing a Gatorade shower and huddling with his players one final time outside the Irvine Valley gym, Coach Steve Conti, who has won nine CIF sectional and regional titles in boys volleyball at Corona del Mar, had difficulty putting into words what his 16^th season has been like for him.

“I don’t know what more I can say that I haven’t already said,” Conti said. “They hit every single goal we set. I have to say that I have pretty high expectations, and they exceeded even those expectations. That is what drove the team this season. We just wanted to go out after winning [the] CIF [section title] and enjoy the regionals.”