Corona del Mar’s boys’ volleyball team has been busy in the first few weeks of the season, stacking wins and building an increasingly impressive résumé.
Behind a commanding performance in the front row, the host Sea Kings swept Huntington Beach 25-20, 25-19, 25-14 on Wednesday in a Sunset League match.
Jack Robinson had nine kills — with no hitting errors — and six block assists for CdM (11-1, 3-0 in the Sunset League). Drake Foley distributed 30 assists while also contributing three total blocks.
Corona del Mar’s Jack Robinson (16) blocks a kill attempt from Huntington Beach’s Logan Hutnick (21) on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“It’s pretty special,” Robinson said of the Sea Kings’ blocking showcase. “We’ve been playing together for many years. It’s the kind of thing you develop over time. You just trust each other. We have a solid back row. As long as we block well, our back row has us.”
Corona del Mar returns its entire starting lineup with the exception of libero Brogan Glenn (UCLA), a position currently taken by Chapman Warmington.
Daniel Booker also had nine kills from the middle, and opposite Brady Gant had eight kills, two service aces and two block assists. Again, they did their damage without committing a hitting error.
Corona del Mar’s Chapman Warmington (2) digs a ball in the back row against Huntington Beach on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Corona del Mar coach Katey Thompson addressed the team’s comfort level with Foley running the offense. Foley, who is a pin hitter for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club, picked up setting duties last season for the Sea Kings.
“We’re not starting from ground zero, so he’s able to kind of pick up where he left off last year,” Thompson said of the versatile Penn State commit. “Yes, he’s a little rusty because he played outside in club, but I think that just was an added benefit, because now he’s been the passer, he’s been the setter, he’s been the hitter, so he’s able to understand each position and how they kind of coincide together.
“I think that that’s going to be a huge benefit to him and his knowledge of the game, where to put the ball. His choices are fantastic, so far. We’re really happy, and we’re definitely working on location with him, but we’re just constantly seeing him improve.”
Corona del Mar’s Brady Gant (25) celebrates an ace serve with Ben Brown (24) and Drake Foley (7) against Huntington Beach on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Ben Brown produced seven kills and three block assists, and Hunter Hanneman had a match-best three aces.
While it’s early, CdM is already establishing solid footing in the league title race, having notched wins over Huntington Beach (4-1, 2-1) and Newport Harbor (13-3, 2-1) with only one set dropped between them.
“They’re crazy-good teams,” Gant said. “I don’t even think we beat Huntington, at all, last year. They really handled us, but we’ve been working hard, and it’s kind of the same people still back. We’ve been trying to really work hard as a team, and I think it might have shown tonight.”
Huntington Beach’s Ben Arguello (8), Kenno Kosty (6), and Colin Choi (10) put up a triple block against Corona del Mar’s Brady Gant (25) on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Corona del Mar also won a season-opening tournament co-hosted by Manhattan Beach Mira Costa and Redondo Union. The Sea Kings beat Mira Costa, the reigning CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion, in the final, but the Mustangs have also handed CdM its only loss of the season, a straight-sets defeat in a best-of-five-sets match at home on Feb. 25.
Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti called the outing “a throwaway,” the first blemish in a long season for the Oilers, who reached the Division 1 final a year ago.
Huntington Beach’s Ben Arguello (8) blocks a kill with help from Lucas Brazao (4) on Corona del Mar’s Hunter Hanneman (10) on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“Hopefully, it’s an aberration, at this point, but we practiced like this on Monday,” Pazanti added. “Playing on the back-to-back [after a win at Servite on Tuesday]. They played good. They did it to us, but I think we did a little to ourselves.
“I can’t remember us hitting and serving that bad in a match in a long time. They put us in some spots, but I don’t think they were overwhelming us from the [service] line. They just were keeping it in play and keeping it in spots.”
Huntington Beach’s Ben Arguello (8) puts a kill past Corona del Mar’s Hunter Hanneman (10) on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
The Oilers still have key contributors from last year’s Division 1 runner-up roster, namely pin hitters Ben Arguello, Colin Choi and Logan Hutnick.
Arguello came out aggressive, supplying seven of his match-leading 17 kills in the first set. Hutnick, an outside hitter committed to USC, finished with 10 kills. Carter Tchaikovsky dished out 32 assists.
Corona del Mar and Huntington Beach will both be among the field in the Best of the West Invitational, taking place Friday and Saturday in San Diego.
Huntington Beach’s Kenno Kosty (6) puts a kill away past Corona del Mar’s Hunter Hanneman (10) on Wednesday in a Sunset League boys’ volleyball match.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)