CdM boys’ volleyball wins Orange County Championships
Given that the early-season boys’ volleyball tournament had just 11 teams competing in it this weekend, in some respects, the Orange County Championships felt a bit like a Sunset Conference showcase.
Five teams from the Sunset Conference were among those in the tournament, which certainly did not diminish the quality of the field.
Corona del Mar defeated Canyon 25-16, 25-14 on Saturday in the championship match at Edison High.
Nato Dickinson had a match-high nine kills to go with two service aces and one block for the Sea Kings. Bryce Dvorak provided 24 assists, two kills and a block. Shane Premer also had six kills and a block.
Fatigue set in at the end of a long, four-match day, but CdM (6-1) still had the better of the ball control with libero Jaden Glenn and outside hitter Justin Browning passing out of the back row.
“I think he’s able to do a lot of things for us,” Sea Kings coach Sam Stafford said of Browning. “I think his ball control is really, really good. It helps us stay in system. With him and Jaden in our serve receive passing rotation, it’s like having two liberos.
“He’s not asked to do a lot for us offensively, but I think when he gets his opportunities, he kind of surprises some people with the amount of pace that he can put on the ball.
“For maybe being a slightly undersized outside hitter, I think he is really efficient on his block, and his fundamentals are really good.”
Browning’s passing kept him on the court, and in limited swings, he also produced five kills.
Glen Linden had three kills and 2½ blocks, and Vanis Buckholz also added three kills for CdM.
Canyon (7-4) was led by Connor Wilson, who had eight kills. Jalen Phillips had two kills and 2½ blocks, and Max Furtek also had 3½ blocks.
The long second day of the tournament for CdM began with an upset loss to Laguna Beach to conclude pool play. Geste Bianchi had a team-high 18 kills as the Breakers beat the Sea Kings 27-25, 25-27, 15-12.
“I think Laguna [Beach] is improved from last year,” Stafford said. “They kind of maybe showed some people that they can play at a very high level.
“It’s always really fun to play Huntington Beach. It’s always a really competitive match, and I think Laguna, Newport [Harbor], Huntington and us, it’s four teams that are going to push each other every single night they play.”
Coincidentally, CdM squared off with all three of its fellow Surf League foes on Saturday. The Sea Kings edged Newport Harbor 25-20, 21-25, 16-14 in the quarterfinals, and then they beat Huntington Beach 19-25, 25-21, 15-12 in the semifinals.
“We’re going up against some really good teams in our league,” Dvorak said. “I think we have a very good chance to see these teams also in CIF later. It’s good to be going against these teams and winning.”
Laguna Beach’s lone loss of the tournament came at the wrong time. The quarterfinals began in the round following the win over CdM, and the Breakers fell to Canyon 25-22, 23-25, 15-12.
Comanches coach Matt Silva addressed the strength of the tournament’s teams after his team made a surprising run to the finals.
“Regardless of how many teams there were, there were six powerhouse teams here,” Silva said, rattling off CdM, Huntington Beach, Tesoro and Newport Harbor among the teams he felt were in that tier. “I would say you have five or six of them that are in the top 10 or top 20 in Division 1. It still felt like a real tournament for us.”
::
Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
