Spirited Sea Kings await title match

Bryce Alderton

Throughout the CIF Southern Section Division III-A girls volleyball

playoffs, Corona del Mar High has steadily gained its composure and

developed a competitive spirit, one which Coach Bill Christiansen

hopes will help drive the team to a championship.

The Sea Kings (21-8), the No. 2 seed, are one step away from the

Division III-A title and will face top-seeded and familiar nemesis

Bishop Montgomery at 7 tonight at Cypress College.

Bishop Montgomery defeated CdM three of the last four years in the

semifinals, with two of the three matches going to five games. CdM

last appeared in a section title match in 1997, when it defeated La

Habra.

“It was just bad luck or a really fantastic play by the opposition

that made the difference in those three-hour matches,” Christiansen,

in his third year at the CdM helm, said of the prior losses to Bishop

Montgomery (23-8). “And those matches were in [the Knights’] gym. I

feel good it is at a neutral court this time. I am not intimidated at

all by them.”

CdM has been rolling of late, sweeping its three playoff matches,

including a 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 victory over host Notre Dame of

Sherman Oaks in a semifinal Tuesday.

“The scores don’t reflect how tough [Notre Dame] is,” Christiansen

said. “There were good rallies and lots of digs. We played really

well and they did too. It was a good match in a hostile gym that was

loud. It was a good test for us.”

Christiansen said the regular-season finale against host Newport

Harbor was the loudest gym he has been in this fall. The Sea Kings

lost to Newport, but he saw encouraging signs.

“Even though we lost to [Newport], the girls understood what they

could do and it has carried us in the playoffs so far,” Christiansen

said. “You always try to stay composed when things aren’t going

great, but at the same time be fired up. We are getting better and

better at that.”

The Sea Kings also enter tonight’s match relatively healthy

compared to last year, when middle blocker Lindsey Ensign missed both

the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds with a kidney infection.

Seniors Ensign and captain Lauren Snell, among others, have

provided consistency at middle blocker alongside junior outside

hitter Jordan Smith and senior setters Ashley Bill and Mackenzie

Conover.

“It’s the players who make this possible,” Christiansen said.