Dave Mohs tourney next for local girls’ volleyball teams
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The Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team will get one of its top players back in time for the Dave Mohs Memorial Championships.
Coach Steve Astor said sophomore Kendall Kipp, who missed CdM’s first two matches of the year, returned home on Thursday, a day before the three-day tournament starts. Kipp was with the U.S. youth national team at the NORCECA Under-18 Continental Championships in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans qualify for next year’s FIVB Women’s Under-18 World Championships.
On Wednesday, while CdM played host to Laguna Beach, Kipp played for the U.S. in the finals against the Dominican Republic. The middle blocker finished with seven kills, three blocks and two service aces in the match the Dominicans rallied to win, 18-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13.
“She had a good opportunity to be able to play with the youth national team,” Astor said of Kipp, whom the Sea Kings could have used in their five-set season-opening loss at home to Los Angeles Marymount on Sept. 1. “As long as she’s feeling fine, she’ll get a chance to play [Friday].”
The Sea Kings are one of nine local teams at Dave Mohs, the event featuring two divisions. In Division 1, there is CdM (1-1), Edison (9-3), Huntington Beach (7-1), Sage Hill (which went into Thursday with a 4-5 record), Newport Harbor (1-9) and Laguna Beach (6-4). Division 2 has Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Marina.
Edison, Huntington Beach and CdM are the top seeds in their respective pools. The first matches start at 3:30 p.m., and the Chargers open with Santa Barbara at home, the Oilers play host to Foothill, and the Sea Kings entertain El Dorado.
Sage Hill faces Bingham, from South Jordan, Utah, at Newport Harbor, while the Sailors play host to Beckman. Laguna Beach battles last year’s runner-up, Corona Santiago, at CdM.
Out of the local programs in Division 1, Edison, Sage Hill, Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach already have one tournament under their belts. The Chargers, Lightning and Sailors traveled last month to Hawaii for the Ann Kang Invitational, with Edison finishing fourth, Sage Hill ninth and Newport Harbor 14th. The Oilers won the Molten Classic at Lakewood on Monday.
In Honolulu, Sage Hill knocked off Edison and Los Alamitos, both of which reached the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs last season. Sage Hill didn’t get a shot at playing the Sailors, but the two schools will meet Friday in the second pool-play match.
Sage Hill’s Dan Thomassen, a 1993 Newport Harbor graduate, will coach against his old high school coach in Dan Glenn. Since 1986, Glenn has been with the Sailors.
“Just playing a team from across the bay, where a lot of the girls know each other, always brings extra excitement,” said Thomassen, whose top players this year are junior setter Jade Blevins and senior outside hitter Jamie Dailey, who has verbally committed to Columbia University. “Getting to coach where Dan Glenn is on the other side of the court … is always an honor. He’s someone who I respect tremendously and he’s been a key influence on me.”
The other schools at the tournament include defending CIF Southern Section Division 1AA champion Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and JSerra, all from the Trinity League. There is one big name from that league absent from Dave Mohs this year, defending champion Santa Margarita. The Division 1 finale is at 7:15 p.m. Monday at Edison.
Those four from the Trinity League went up against Sunset League teams on Wednesday during the inaugural Sunset League-Trinity League Showcase. The Trinity League pretty much dominated, as the only successful Sunset League team was Edison, which swept host Orange Lutheran, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19.
Mater Dei swept Los Alamitos, 25-19, 25-19, 26-24, JSerra got past Newport Harbor, 25-11, 20-25, 25-15, 25-17, and Santa Margarita beat host Huntington Beach, 25-8, 25-17, 25-17. The four matches took place at two venues, Orange Lutheran and Huntington Beach.
The only teams not participating from the Sunset League were Fountain Valley and Marina, and Rosary from the five-team Trinity League.
“All of the matches this year in the [Sunset League-Trinity League Showcase] were matches that were already on everybody’s schedule, so we decided we’re going to try it this year,” said Huntington Beach Coach Craig Pazanti, who returns two four-year starters in outside hitter Cami Sanchez, a UCLA women’s sand volleyball commit, and libero Ashley Stevens from its semifinal team from a year ago. “The plan was originally to try and get it all at one site on a Saturday. But a lot of people weren’t willing to give up a home [match], so we decided that we’re going to do it at two sites because we didn’t have a good weekend to get it done.”
DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA covers football and girls’ volleyball in the fall. He can be reached at [email protected].