CdM is rolling with Patrick Paragas setting the tempo

The message Patrick Paragas often heard from Corona del Mar High coach Steve Conti was in the form of a question.

“Why not us?” Conti would ask Paragas and the rest of the boys’ volleyball team.

The question was more of a challenge, as in why cannot this be the year CdM breaks through in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 finals.

Paragas had been there the last two years when the Sea Kings lost in the section championship match each time in five sets. He first sat on the bench as a freshman call-up, and a year later, he contributed on the court as a libero.

The role changed again for Paragas this year. He was now a junior and the setter, the quarterback of the team, taking over for Matt Ctvrtlik, one of the best players to have suited up for Conti.

Gone was the team’s setter from the previous four years, and in came Paragas. As far as pressure of running the CdM offense, Paragas said he never felt any.

“I knew I had some big shoes to fill,” Paragas said. “But I’ve watched [Ctvrtlik] for the past two years. I watched [him lead], and I felt I was ready to step into that role.”

While there was no way Paragas could match Ctvrtlik when it comes to shoe size, or height, he’s five inches shorter than the 6-foot-5 Ctvrtlik, Conti said Pargas had what it took for the Sea Kings to not miss a beat. And they did not.

The Sea Kings actually took it up a notch with Paragas. With an array of options to go to, from outside hitters Clay Dickinson and Brandon Browning, to middle blockers Mitch Haly and Jake Meyer, to opposite Kevin Kobrine, Paragas spreads the ball around.

Paragas’ biggest assist was helping CdM finally get over the hump in the section finals last Saturday.

The third straight section finals appearance by the Sea Kings ended a lot quicker than the previous two, and in their favor. Paragas finished with 34 assists, one kill, seven digs, two block assists and one service ace in No. 3-seeded CdM’s 25-22, 32-30, 26-24 sweep of No. 1 Los Angeles Loyola at Cerritos College.

Paragas’ ace put CdM in position to avenge last year’s loss to Loyola.

With Game 3 tied at 24-24, Paragas served from the left side, dropping an ace on the right side, an inch or two away from the sideline in zone five. Paragas’ serve put CdM at match point, and one more point for the Sea Kings and the section title was theirs.

The Sea Kings finished off the Cubs, as Kobrine blocked a shot. The last time the Sea Kings won the section crown in the top division was 17 years ago, when Paragas was almost a month old.

Paragas and the Sea Kings have come a long ways. Their season wasn’t over after coming through on the big stage.

Three days after winning a section championship for the first time in six years, CdM opened the CIF Southern California Regional Division I playoffs as the No. 1 seed on Tuesday. The Sea Kings swept another opponent, this time No. 8 Palisades 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal with Back Bay rival Newport Harbor.

Getting up for the No. 4 Sailors wasn’t going to be an issue for Paragas and the Sea Kings.

“It’s pretty easy. Coach Conti was like, ‘Newport,’ and we were all inspired,” said Paragas, whose Sea Kings swept Newport Harbor 29-27, 25-18, 25-23 in the annual Battle of the Bay match at home on April 1. “It’s probably the biggest rivalry we’ll ever be in, and we’re always pumped up to play them. They’re going to come out firing since we have a pretty big winning streak against them right now. We want to protect that.”

The host Sea Kings beat Newport Harbor 25-13, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, making it five wins in a row against the Sailors. They earned a trip to the SoCal Regional finals for the fourth straight season.

Paragas and the Sea Kings will see another rival next.

The Sea Kings (33-3) and No. 2 Loyola (29-2) will play for the third time this year, this time in Saturday’s SoCal Regional final at Edison High at 5:30 p.m.

The Cubs outlasted CdM in five sets in a nonleague match at home on April 26, and 24 days later on a neutral court, CdM prevailed in three sets in the section finale.

The two storied programs will meet in a SoCal Regional final for the first time. Loyola is making its seventh trip to the SoCal Regional Division I finals, while CdM is going for the second time in Division I, as its other three appearances came in Division II.

Paragas hoped he and the Sea Kings would make it back in the top division, after losing in three sets to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa a year ago. Seeing Loyola in the season finale is an added bonus.

“That revenge was sweet when we got it,” Paragas said of last week’s section championship win.

“It would be nice to prove our dominance and beat Loyola again.”

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Twitter: @ByDCP