NEWPORT BEACH >> Corona del Mar hadn’t lost a set in five consecutive matches going into its CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinal against Laguna Beach on Saturday at Corona del Mar High.
No. 3 seed Corona del Mar had also swept the Breakers earlier this season and there was no reason to think the Sea Kings wouldn’t dominate again.
But Laguna nearly matched their rivals set for set and point for point, until the Sea Kings finally put forth enough of a surge at the end to defeat the Breakers, 25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12.
The Sea Kings (29-4) will host Oak Park in a semifinal on Wednesday. The Eagles defeated Huntington Beach in another quarterfinal Saturday.
“Laguna had a very smart serving scheme against us,” CdM coach Steve Conti said. “They kind of took us out of our comfort zone and we didn’t play super well feeling uncomfortable.”
Brandon Browning, Clay Dickson, Jake Meyer had 12 kills each to lead the Sea Kings.
Patrick Paragas contributed to the victory with 37 assists and Diego Perez had seven digs and served two aces.
The match was played in front of a packed gymnasium with an equal number of fans for both teams.
As it became clear the Breakers (25-6) were battling over every point, the Laguna crowd became more boisterous.
The Sea Kings used their size advantage to win most of the battles at the net, especially in the final set.
Clay Dickson and Mitch Haly teamed up to block Ryan Blaser’s kill attempt to give the Sea Kings a 3-2 lead in the set and Haly and Browning teamed up for two additional blocks.
CdM led 6-5 before closing out the set and the match on a 10-6 run.
“We had a chance to steal it,” Breakers’ coach Darren Utterback said. “We were right there. We just couldn’t close it.”