CdM stuffs Laguna

LAGUNA BEACH — It was only a Wednesday night, but the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team decided it was a good time for a block party.

No cover charge, only host Laguna Beach running for cover after the Sea Kings used their big block to sweep the nonleague match against their rival, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20.

Sophomore middle blocker Spencer Haly had five blocks, senior setter Connor Bannan had four and junior outside hitter Weston Nielsen added three for CdM (6-2).

They came at big times, too, like in the first game when Corona del Mar used three straight blocks — two by Nielsen and one by Haly — to grab a 12-5 lead. They were part of an 8-0 run that gave the Sea Kings early momentum.

“We had a pretty good practice on Monday,” CdM Coach Steve Conti said. “It wasn’t that we were in the gym, but I showed the guys some things on video that I thought helped us, too. Maybe I have a group of visual learners, because the things we showed them on video are the things we’ve been talking about for three-and-a-half weeks now. I don’t know if we did all of them perfectly, but you could see we were trying to do them a little bit better today. To me, that’s what it’s about.”

It was the Sea Kings’ first match since the tough Best of the West Tournament, where they lost a pair of matches to San Clemente and Poway. Nielsen said those losses were necessary for the Sea Kings, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, to bounce back from.

“We didn’t play up to our potential at all [at the tournament],” said Nielsen, who led CdM Wednesday with nine kills. “Coach knew that, we knew that. We had some hard practices, watched a lot of film of ourselves. We definitely wanted to redeem ourselves. People saw us play, and they thought, ‘CdM’s not that great,’ but we know we’re better than that. We came out and we showed it tonight.

“I wouldn’t say [beating Laguna Beach] is the best win — that’s Harbor — but it’s definitely the second-best win all year, besides CIF.”

The Breakers (9-2), who won the Foothill Tournament last weekend and are ranked No. 2 in Division II, had a nine-match winning streak snapped. They tried to come back in Games 2 and 3, and held substantial early leads in each. In Game 3, it was a 6-1 advantage on Travis Woloson’s kill off an overpass.

But Conti didn’t call timeout. Instead, he watched CdM battle back and tie the score at 12-12.

“They started with a couple good servers, Robbie [McKnight] and Cooper [Gwaltney],” Nielsen said. “It was pretty much our passing off that serve, and once we got that down, we just took over from there. I don’t think coach wanted to call a timeout. He wanted us to come together as a team and figure out what we’re all about. I think we did that, and even though we were down, we came back.”

After the 12-12 tie, CdM also won the next four points — two on Laguna Beach net violations — to surge ahead.

“They passed better than we did, and their block was very nice tonight,” Laguna Beach Coach Lance Stewart said. “Part of that was our passing, and part of that is they’re just good blockers. They’re just a better team than we are right now.”

Senior middle blocker Dylan Davis had seven kills for CdM. Senior libero Danny Baker had 12 digs, and Bannan had 28 assists. He earned praise from Conti for his technique, as well as getting everyone involved.

“I think that helped keep everyone focused,” Conti said.

Both teams are entered in the big Dave Mohs Tournament this weekend. Corona del Mar is the top seed in its pool that also includes Mater Dei, Dana Hills and Fountain Valley. The Sea Kings open against Dana Hills on Friday at 3 p.m. at Fountain Valley High.