Volleyball team gets swept

CORONA DEL MAR “” The Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team could have all the talent in the world.

But for interim coach Steve Astor, it’s all about showing the fight.

The Breakers didn’t show it a lot Tuesday in a nonleague match at Corona del Mar as the host Sea Kings swept, 25-22, 25-16, 25-16.

“We just didn’t execute the easy plays,” Astor said. “That was the difference in the first game and part of the second game. It was a lack of executing and a lack of fight. We didn’t really show a lot of fight in the second and third games. Once we show the fight, we’ll be a good team. Physically, we have a lot of talent, but mentally, we need a lot of work still. You could see that pretty easily [against CdM].”

The Breakers were coming off a five-game win over Mater Dei last week. Laguna, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division II coaches’ poll, now stands at 8-3 this season.

Senior Travis Woloson had nine kills against CdM, fellow senior Scottie Chapel added seven and junior Alec Burk five.

Junior setter Robbie McKnight dished out 17 assists and Woloson had eight.

The Breakers fell behind early in each of the three games, and were unable to break a solid CdM blocking effort for much of the night.

Laguna Beach is in the Orange County Championships, which are today and Saturday. The Breakers are seeded No. 2 in Pool 1, which features the top-ranked team in the county in Esperanza.

Pool games are at Fountain Valley High. Laguna plays Foothill at 4 p.m. today, then Esperanza at 6 p.m. The Breakers tangle with San Clemente at 9 a.m. Saturday. Quarterfinals follow at about noon at Edison, with semifinals to follow that.

The tournament final is 7 p.m. Monday at Edison High.

“Like I told the guys, luckily, we have a chance to correct ourselves,” Astor said. “We’ll have a chance to see how much we’ve improved in three days.”

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BASEBALL

Laguna opens league on the road against Godinez today. In previous action, the Breakers split a doubleheader at Loara on Tuesday. Laguna won the first game, 13-8, before losing the night-cap, 8-6.

A pair of high-scoring games, and Coach Jeff Sears knows the reason why.

“We’ve got to throw strikes and play catch, or it wouldn’t be that high-scoring,” he said.

Tyler Pierce got the win in the opener, with Casey Miller getting the save. Junior Chris Paul had a pair of triples in the game and senior Mike Opera added a pair of doubles. Miller was two for four with four runs batted in.

In the night-cap, Paul, Shane Selfridge and Keaton Jones were all two for three. Jones and Austin Paxson each had two RBIs.

The Breakers are 4-3 heading into league.

“We’ve played some great opponents and given ourselves an opportunity to win,” Sears said. “Believing in ourselves is the biggest thing, because we are good enough to compete for a league title.”

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TRACK AND FIELD

The Breakers boys and girls had their first meet action of the season March 11, a tri-meet against JSerra and La Quinta.

Varsity winners for Laguna Beach included senior Tommy Newton-Neal in the boys’ 1,600 meters (4 minutes 37.24 seconds) and 800 (2:06.62). Sophomore Norty Penney captured the 200 race in 24.06 seconds, and senior Andrew Shapero won the 3,2000 in 10:11.91.

Laguna also won the varsity 4x100 for both boys (45.38) and girls (52.59).

The Breakers hosted Godinez on Thursday in their first Orange Coast League meet of the season and also host the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational on Saturday.

Co-Coach Scott Wittkop said both the boys and girls expect to contend for Orange Coast League titles this year.

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BOYS’ TENNIS

Laguna is 2-8, including tournament play, after falling to Villa Park by a 13-5 score on Wednesday. The Breakers lost that match despite a sweep at No. 1 singles by junior Benito Romeo.

The Breakers got their second win of the season by topping Sage Hill, 11-7, on Tuesday. Romeo, freshman Teague Hamilton and sophomore Hutton McKenna all won two of three singles sets, and the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Alex Gromet and Mikey Rubel also won two sets.

“These guys are riding out a storm,” Coach Aaron Talarico said of the Breakers’ challenging preseason schedule.

The Breakers, who advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division IV finals last year, were considered one of the favorites this year, as well. But they were hard-hit by losses, though they graduated just one senior in Rex Miller. Former No. 1 singles player Jake Michaels, a junior, has decided not to play on the high school team this year to focus on his United States Tennis Assn. ranking, Talarico said. Chris Lavery, who played No. 2 singles last year, was no longer eligible after skipping a year between his sophomore and junior seasons.

Christian O’Connor and Hunter Moskow have also left the team, Talarico said.

“Those all caught me by surprise a little bit,” he said.

But in Romeo, Hamilton and McKenna, Talarico said he hopes he can form another dominating singles lineup by the time the Division IV playoffs roll around.

“These are the guys we have,” he said. “If I can get the guys in high spirits by the playoffs, I like their chances again. The goal of the season is the Division IV playoffs. It’s not winning every match during the regular season.”

Laguna hosted Troy on Thursday and opens its Orange Coast League schedule at Godinez on Tuesday.

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BOYS’ GOLF

The Breakers earned an Orange Coast League 212-266 win over Orange on Tuesday at El Prado. They also lost a close match to San Clemente, 205-212, on Monday at their home course of Aliso Viejo Country Club.

Laguna Beach is 3-4 this season and played Ocean View on Thursday at Mile Square Park.