Sea Kings, Eagles home for CIF quarterfinals

With graduation less than a month away, the eight seniors on the

Corona del Mar High boys volleyball roster are hoping to create as

many special moments as they can in the short time they have together

before going off to college.

The motivation is altogether different, though, arguably, no less

intense for Estancia High, which has only two seniors on its roster.

Still, after an eight-year absence from the postseason, the

Eagles’ sense of urgency may rival that of the Sea Kings as the two

teams enter CIF Southern Section quarterfinal playoff matches in

their respective divisions tonight at 7.

CdM (19-11), the No. 2 seed in CIF Division II, battles visiting

Arcadia (23-8).

Estancia (27-10), the No. 3 seed in CIF Division III, collides

with visiting Whittier (15-7).

The Sea Kings, champions of the Pacific Coast League, have

reached at least the section semifinals the last six seasons,

including five straight trips to the title match before falling in

the semis last spring. They advanced with a 15-5, 15-5, 15-2 second-round conquest of visiting Arrowhead Christian on Tuesday

after receiving a first-round bye.

Coach Steve Conti’s Sea Kings are led by 6-foot-7 Stanford-bound

senior middle blocker Eric Jones, as well as senior captain Bart

Welch, senior setter Greg Gabriel, senior middle blocker Miles

Yourman and sophomore outside hitters Kevin and Tom Welch, the

younger brothers of Bart.

Seniors Brandon Sherick-Odom, Brian Brinkerhoff and Clay Stone

also come off the bench for CdM, which received strong play the last

few weeks from senior Gunnar McClellan, who is out with a shoulder

injury.

Sophomore Austin Brawner and junior Dominic Rubino have also

provided a spark at various times for CdM, which may be playing its

best volleyball at the right time.

“I think the biggest thing right now, is that a lot of our seniors

are pretty happy to be playing volleyball right now,” said Conti, who

has, at times, lost the services of Jones, Bart Welch, Sherick-Odom

and McClellan due to injuries. “When you’re a senior, you look

forward to playing in the Orange County Tournament, going down to San

Diego to play in that tournament, going to Santa Barbara to play in

the tournament and playing against Newport Harbor. We’ve had so many

guys miss out on some of that this year. I told our guys before the

playoffs, they have the chance to do something meaningful right now.”

Conti believes Arcadia, co-champion of the Pacific League, will

provide a formidable challenge.

“It’s a team that does some good things,” Conti said. “I know they

have an outside hitter they like to set a lot, and the coaches I’ve

talked to, tell me he is the real deal. They set him in the back row

and he can go up and bang.”

Jones and the two younger Welch brothers have been the biggest

bangers for the Sea Kings, though Gabriel has consistently triggered

a balanced hitting attack. Defense has been a consistent theme behind

the success during Conti’s tenure and serving and blocking have also

helped CdM handle foes this season.

Conti looks forward to having a sizable crowd for the final home

match of the season and the Sea Kings just may need all the

intangibles they can get to push past the Apaches.

“Going into the playoffs, I believed there were eight teams with a

good shot to win this division and the top eight are all in the

quarterfinals,” Conti said.

Estancia has breezed to two playoff wins, dispatching first-round

foe Century, 15-1, 15-3, 15-2, then taking care of Orange Lutheran,

15-10, 15-2, 15-11, in Tuesday’s second round.

Whittier, meanwhile, has endured two five-game matches to get to

this point. The Cardinals got past Golden West League representative

Orange, 14-16, 15-6, 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, then prevailed over Diamond

Ranch, 15-9, 3-15, 10-15, 15-12, 15-11, Tuesday night. The Cardinals

won the Del Rio League crown.

Estancia defeated Orange twice, in three games, then in four, in

league competition. The Eagles, who were 0-10 in the Pacific Coast

League last season, but tied Ocean View for the Golden West League

Crown this spring, are keyed by juniors Kris Hartwell, a 6-2 outside

hitter, and Josh Kornegay, a 6-4 opposite. Both are strong hitters,

but their well-rounded talents help bolster a lineup that includes

sophomore setter Trevor Holmes, junior outside hitter Brad Larsen and

6-5 junior middle blocker Scott Sankey.

Senior Jess Hellmich, a senior, is another contributor for Coach

Tracey Heims, as is 6-4 freshman middle Dallas Kopp.

Should Estancia win, it will face either Oxnard (15-8) or San

Gabriel (19-4) in Wednesday’s semifinal. San Gabriel upset No.

2-seeded Downey, 16-14, 15-13, 15-13, in the second round.

A CdM victory would create a semifinal matchup Wednesday against

either San Marcos (17-4), or Ventura (11-8).

Both semifinals will be played at an alternate site chosen by the

designated home team.