CdM falters in regional final; Newport Harbor wins

Corona del Mar's girls volleyball team's season ended with another disappointing loss to Redlands East Valley on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Wildcats swept past the Sea Kings, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22, in the CIF State Division II regional final at Redlands East Valley High. It's the second consecutive season Redlands East Valley (37-3) has won the regional by beating the Sea Kings (27-7), and its fourth in a row over the county squad in the past two years.

After losing twice to Redlands East Valley last season, Corona del Mar thought it had closed the gap entering 2009. However, the Krista Vansant-led Wildcats proved otherwise.

The junior outside hitter again caused trouble for the Sea Kings. She finished with a team-high 12 kills and 11 digs. Her presence opened the middle and right side for their other hitters, and it was too much for Corona del Mar to contain.

"Redlands is a smart team," Gan said. "Their strength is they don't make a lot of mistakes."

Corona del Mar can also spread around the attacks, but it has struggled with its passing in matches against Redlands East Valley. Though the loss was hard on the team, it won't overshadow Corona del Mar's season.

The Sea Kings lost to only three county teams — Newport Harbor, Los Alamitos and Laguna Beach. Corona del Mar's other defeats were to Redlands East Valley (twice), Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach and Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, which meets REV Saturday at 5 p.m. in the state final.

Newport Harbor 3, Dos Pueblos of Goleta 2: Katey Thompson had 25 kills and Cinnamon Asry contributed 54 assists as the visiting Sailors (32-6) knocked off Dos Pueblos (32-3), 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 18-25, 15-10, to advance to the state final.

Newport Harbor plays Salinas for the division championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bren Center.