Corona del Mar girls volleyball coach Steve Astor doesn’t remember the last time his team lost a league match. That’s understandable considering the program has a league winning streak that is approaching 10 years.
The streak and CdM’s resolve were put to the test Tuesday night in a Pacific Coast League match against 10th-ranked Beckman.
After failing to close the match in the third and fourth set, CdM was forced to regroup in a deciding fifth set. The Sea Kings took control at that point and won the match, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 15-7, to keep alive a streak that dates to 2008.
“I think we showed some grit, I think, for the first time all year for a full match,” Astor said. “We showed a lot just hanging in there.”
This was the third time this season CdM (10-8, 4-0) was extended to a fifth set. The first two times, the Sea Kings came up short, losing to Marymount of Los Angeles and Trabuco Hills.
“Between the fourth and the fifth set,” CdM senior Ashley Humphreys said, “we came together and said this is our game, we’re not losing. Let’s leave everything on the court.
“Early in the season, things were still coming together, but at the start of league, that’s when things have really been coming together.”
Humphreys led CdM with 30 kills. Christina Davenport and Alexa Bonanno had 18 and 12, respectively. Karly Recker and Kendall Kipp had eight and seven, respectively.
Beckman (17-8, 3-1) nearly was the team with the 2-0 lead after the first two sets.
The Patriots were tied, 23-23, in the first set and led, 21-19, in the second, but were unable to prevent the Sea Kings from taking the sets.
With Jill and Hannah Schneggenburger leading the charge, things started to go Beckman’s way in the middle sets. Jill Schneggenburger led the Patriots with 27 kills. Hannah Schneggenburger and Hannah Graves had 11 and six, respectively.
“There are a couple of ways you can look at this,” Beckman coach Darin McBain said. “You can be disappointed and upset how we finished in game five. But you also have to take some positives out of it. We were down 0-2, fought back and put some pressure on that team …
“We have to find a way to get through against these guys and get a win.”
The teams will meet again Oct. 19 at Corona del Mar.
In the Freeway League:
Troy 3, Sonora 0: Zoe Wang and McKenna Grossheim had 12 and 11 kills, respectively, to lead the Warriors (17-7, 4-0) to a 25-20, 25-12, 25-17 victory at Troy.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com
