Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week:

If actions speak louder than words, how one acts in a pool of their own blood speaks to the soul of any competitor.

And Victoria Kent’s actions after being cracked in the mouth hard enough to require 15 stitches Saturday, said a mouthful about the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo standout.

“It’s a powerful example of leadership,” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said of Kent’s behavior after a Montebello player’s inadvertent fist sent blood streaming from Kent’s mouth in a nonleague game Saturday morning.

“She ended up with 15 stitches [on a split lower lip],” said Chaney, who was surprised to see a stitched-up Kent back at the CdM pool several moments after the game had ended Saturday.

“She had been the doctor to get sewn up and everyone had gone home but our coaches and Margot Money [who shares captain duties with Kent],” Chaney said. “We were in the office and we heard someone yelling from outside the gate. Margot said, ‘I think that’s Victoria.’

“So we went out and let Victoria in and, right away, I was impressed by her attitude,” Chaney said. “I teased her about the winter formal being that night and the fact that she had blue stitches. She laughed and said ‘Yeah, they match my dress.’

“The next thing she tells me, is that she can get back in [the pool for practice] on Monday. A lot of kids would sit out for four days, so that speaks about the strength of her character. I gave her an extra day off, but she practiced with us Tuesday as if nothing had happened.”

With Kent providing leadership in and out of the pool, good things have happened for the Sea Kings this season, despite losing 10 seniors that had helped lead the team to back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division I title-game appearances in 2009 and 2008.

Entering Friday, CdM was 16-6, ranked No. 4 in Division I and on its way to another Pacific Coast League championship.

The attacker’s exceptionally strong shot makers her one of the team’s primary scoring threats, her defense, particularly at two meters, is another huge asset for the Sea Kings, Chaney said.

But Kent’s contribution goes well beyond tangible factors.

“She’s an extremely hard worker and a good leader for our team,” Chaney said. “I know the girls look up to her as a captain.”

Kent scored a team-best five goals in two games Thursday as CdM opened the Irvine Southern California Championships with a pair of victories.

Kent said becoming a captain was just one of the adjustments she faced in her senior season.

“Being a co-captain involved a little more than I thought,” she said. “It’s not just how you play, but how you act. All the girls look to you as a role model, so they kind of follow what you do. And I’m not just a water polo player. I’m a player, student and friend.”

In terms of her play, Kent has looked to score more this season.

“I wanted to become a bigger threat on offense,” she said. “I’ve been attacking more.”

Kent plans to continue to push herself, as well as her teammates. She boasts a 3.9 grade-point average and plans to play collegiately. She has talked with coaches at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA.

Wherever she lands next season, her new program will be gaining someone who has shown that her commitment to the team is more than just lip service.