Sea Kings stun Sailors

CORONA DEL MAR — A black stretch limousine pulled up to the Corona del Mar High campus. Members of the girls' volleyball team were running late to the football game on Friday night.

The Sea Kings had a good excuse for missing most of the football game. They just beat Newport Harbor on the court in the Battle of the Bay for the first time in six years.

The Sea Kings did not just defeat their Back Bay rivals. They swept them, 25-21, 25-23, 26-24.

The home fans stormed onto the court moments after middle blocker Britton Taylor clinched the match for CdM with an overpass kill. The Sea Kings rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third set to upset the defending CIF State Division I champions.

"It's unbelievable. We've been dreaming of this since last year," said CdM senior outside hitter Morgan Boukather, adding that the team's ultimate goal this year was to knock off the Sailors.

Finally, the Sea Kings pulled it off. CdM assistant coach Steve Conti said they accomplished the feat with Boukather battling pneumonia during the week and senior middle blocker Claire Ham a viral infection.

If you believe in signs, then it probably made sense that the Sea Kings prevailed in the Battle of the Bay on Nov. 5. On the same day six years ago, CdM won the rivalry match.

But this time in three sets? No one imagined it was possible, not against a Dan Glenn-coached team.

Glenn coached CdM Coach Darryl Gan's sister and two brothers, so he knows how tough it is to beat Newport Harbor, let alone sweep the Sailors in the biggest match in town.

The regular-season finale for both teams gives CdM (21-7) momentum heading into the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs next week.

"I think that's what we need heading into CIF," said Gan, who in his third year in charge is hoping to guide the Sea Kings to a section championship match for the third straight season.

In the previous two final appearances, CdM has fallen each time to Redlands Easy Valley.

The road for Newport Harbor (20-12) to defend its Division I-AA crown will be much harder.

"It's hard to regroup," Glenn said after losing the Battle of the Bay. "I'm not going to sit there and say this wasn't an important [match]. This is a huge [match]. This is the city championship.