NEWPORT BEACH — Corona del Mar boys volleyball coach Katey Thompson was celebrating her birthday on Wednesday. It also was the day the Sea Kings were taking on 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 accommodated their coach, coming away with a sweep, 25-19, 25-20, 28-26, 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 are ranked No. 3 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 key to the victory was the Sea Kings’ ability to effectively counter the Sailors’ middle blockers, Thompson said.
Daniel Booker and Reid McMullen handled 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 league meeting. “Our biggest key point was being able to stop their middles 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 on cross court hits.
“He played exceptional tonight,” Thompson said. “And he’s a real leader for our team, emotionally, and obviously physically.”
Booker had five kills and Brady Gant added four kills 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 for the Sea Kings was being able to put together runs. 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 battle 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 match.
“This is a big rivalry so it’s emotional no matter what, but it’s also a huge league game,” Sailors coach Andrew Mabry said. “I thought as a team, collectively as a unit, I thought they played really clean throughout the whole. I think everybody has a chance to win every single night in this league, so to go 3-0 in the first half I thought was really impressive. We never assumed that this was an easy second half. Every night is an all-out battle.”
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