Birthday wish granted as Corona del Mar boys volleyball sweeps No. 1 Newport Harbor – Orange County Register

NEWPORT BEACH – Corona del Mar boys volleyball coach Katey Thompson was celebrating her birthday Wednesday. It was also the day the Sea Kings played rival Newport Harbor, the No. 1 ranked team in CIF-SS Division 1/2 and in the state.

Thompson said all she wanted for her birthday was a victory over the sailors.

The Sea Kings welcomed back their coach, earning a 25-19, 25-20, 28-26 sweep in a key Surf League match at Newport Harbor High School.

“That’s all I really wanted this year,” Thompson said.

With the victory over Newport Harbor, the Sea Kings (20-5, 3-1), who occupy 3rd place in Division 1/2, are now tied for first place in the Surf League with the Sailors (22-4 , 3-1). Huntington Beach (24-4, 1-2) is third.

One of the keys to the victory was the Sea Kings’ ability to effectively counter the Sailors’ middle blockers, Thompson said.

Daniel Booker and Reid McMullen have taken on that role for the Sea Kings, the coach said.

“They’re a fantastic team,” Thompson said of the Sailors, who beat Corona del Mar in four games when the teams met March 14 in their first championship meeting. “Our biggest key point was being able to stop their crosses because they are very good.”

Sterling Foley led the Sea Kings with 21 kills and 3.5 blocks, scoring on several kills from the back row and cross-court hits.

“He played outstanding tonight,” Thompson said. “And he’s a true leader for our team, emotionally and obviously physically.”

Booker had five kills and Brady Gant added four for the Sea Kings.

Riggs Guy, who has committed to play at UC Santa Barbara, led the Sailors with 14 kills and teammate Jack Berry had nine kills and three blocks.

Another key element for the Sea Kings was being able to organize courses. They had a 10-4 run in the first set, a 10-2 run in the second set and a 10-4 run early in the third set.

The Sailors managed to fight back in the third set to force overtime.

The score was tied twice in overtime until the Sea Kings scored the final two points to sweep the game.

“It’s a big rivalry so it’s emotional no matter what, but it’s also a huge championship game,” Sailors coach Andrew Mabry said. “I thought as a team, collectively as a unit, I thought they played very clean throughout the game. I think everyone has a chance to win every night in this league, so going 3-0 in the first half seemed really impressive to me. We never thought the second half was easy. Every night is a total battle.