Corona del Mar can’t stop Mater Dei from making fifth straight CIF girls’ volleyball finals appearance

The Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team faced a familiar opponent in its first CIF Southern Section semifinal appearance in three years on Tuesday.

The Sea Kings played host to Mater Dei in the same round of the section’s premier playoff division in 2014.

The two schools met again at CdM, and the outcome was the same.

The No. 2-seeded Monarchs advanced to their fifth straight section final with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-19 sweep of CdM.

Kristina Pepek led Mater Dei with 12 kills. The Monarchs (33-5) play No. 1 Los Angeles Marymount (30-7) for the championship at Cerritos College on Saturday.

Marymount beat Redondo Union 25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

Mater Dei, which is 1-3 in the last four championship matches, lost at Marymount in four sets on Oct. 12.

For the Sea Kings (22-7), Kendall Kipp finished with 10 kills and a pair of service aces.

“We had our chances in sets one and three,” CdM coach Steve Astor said. “I thought they totally overwhelmed us and played great in set two, but in set one and three, we had some easy to medium balls we didn’t control and that is what we have been preaching all year. This game wasn’t going to be won by digging the hard to control ball. Instead, being in control of the easy ones to pass them on target and we didn’t do that in key moments, and you’re not going to get by doing that against a good team like [Mater Dei].”

After a back and fourth start to the first set, which had four lead changes, CdM gained some separation. The Sea Kings scored three straight points and took an 11-7 lead.

Mater Dei managed to tie things up at 13-13, and then it used its own run to go on top 18-14. The Sea Kings rallied and made it a two-point affair, but at set point, Natalie Berty’s kill clinched it for the Monarchs.

The Monarchs dominated the second set. They jumped out to a 12-5 lead, and it blossomed to 20-10.

The Sea Kings would get three straight scores from Maya Satchell and benefit from a Mater Dei service error, but the damage was done. Mater Dei ran away with Game 2.

The Sea Kings gave it their best shot in the third set, which had five lead changes. After the Sea Kings went up 12-7 and forced a Mater Dei timeout, the Monarchs regrouped and went on an 8-1 run to grab a 15-13 lead.

CdM tied it at 19-19, but the Monarchs closed the match on a five-point run, coming on a combination of aces and missed hits by the Sea Kings.

Despite the loss, Astor will have his team ready to play in the CIF State Southern California Regional Open Division playoffs. The draws will be released on Sunday.

“A lot of the [mistakes] are correctable and we’ve got to look at that this next week of practice and be ready for the state playoffs, and hope to get a chance to play [the Monarchs] again,” Astor said. “It’s not only about owning it and not shying away from the loss, but we have to use it as motivation to bounce back. The great thing is that we still have a chance to win a title in state, which would be a phenomenal accomplishment. We still have a shot to have a great ending to our season.”

JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter @JGonzalezSports

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