Sea Kings cited team to beat

Before the boys’ volleyball season, Corona del Mar High Coach Steve Conti drew it up nicely.

Get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, get to a third consecutive CIF Southern Section title match, and win it.

The Sea Kings (28-2) earned the first of three goals when they received the top seed in the Division II playoffs, announced by the section Monday.

But in doing so, they’ve fought through some injuries to face Santa Ana (14-7) at home in the opening round Friday, unlike the two other Newport-Mesa postseason participants.

Newport Harbor (19-12) will play host to Santa Margarita (21-15) in a Division I first-round match, and Sage Hill (13-7) is at home against Orangewood Academy (8-5) in a Division V first-round contest. All three matches are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.

Conti was confident about his 12th season at CdM before watching UCLA-bound outside hitter Adam Smith miss the Sea Kings’ first 29 matches with a torn ligament in his left hand.

Then he lost UC Santa Barbara-bound senior Blaine Nielsen for a couple of weeks with a right-foot injury and junior Jeff Carlson for three days with a right-shoulder problem.

All three returned last week in CdM’s regular-season finale, in time to sweep Bay rival Newport Harbor, and gain some momentum for a run at what would be the program’s sixth CIF crown.

“We did not look very good as a team, and they did not look very good in individual [workouts],” Conti sad of the injured players after beating Newport Harbor, 25-15, 25-22, 25-22, at home. “I think it was crucial for them to get a feel for playing again.”

Conti said Nielsen and Carlson, along with junior Gus Ellis, should play a vital role in how far the Sea Kings go in the postseason.

As for Smith, he saw limited action in the first game against Newport Harbor. No word whether he’ll be a key factor in the opener against the Golden West League’s third-place team.

Things aren’t as rosy at Newport Harbor.

The Sunset League runner-up saw UCLA-bound senior middle blocker Weston Dunlap injure his ankle during an uninspired team effort against CdM.

The 6-foot-7 Dunlap said he should be ready for the opener.

“Hopefully we learned our lesson. You don’t do that in the playoffs,” said Sailors Coach Dan Glenn, whose team plays the third-place team from the Trinity League. “Losing three straight [games at CdM] doesn’t help us. We’ve got 12 losses. It doesn’t matter where they put us.”

Glenn’s just hoping the Sailors don’t get ousted in the first round like they did last year.

Newport Harbor defeated Santa Margarita, 22-25, 25-13, 15-11, on March 10.

Outside hitter Bayle Smith leads Sage Hill, which placed second in the Academy League at 8-2.

The Lightning will square off against the International League’s third-place finisher in Orangewood Academy.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected]