Foothill girls volleyball beats Corona del Mar, advances to CIF-SS semifinals

NEWPORT BEACH – Among the many interesting developments in Orange County high school sports this fall is the large number of non-seniors who have shined in girls volleyball.

Foothill showed off a few such players Wednesday in its five-set win over Corona del Mar, 25-20, 16-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-6, in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals at Corona del Mar High.

Knights sophomore outside hitter June Stringham had a team-high 15 kills. She made only two hitting errors.

Junior outside hitter Marisa Hilde added seven kills and junior middle blocker Malory Grimes contributed five kills.

Foothill (26-10) will play at home against Flintridge Prep (22-3) in the semifinals Saturday at 6 p.m.

By advancing to the CIF-SS semifinals, Foothill has qualified for the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that follow the CIF-SS finals on Nov. 8.

Corona del Mar finished the season 17-14. The Sea Kings tied Edison for fourth place in the seven-team Sunset League.

Foothill seniors did their part Wednesday, including senior opposite hitter Haley Langdon who had 14 kills with only two hitting errors. But mostly it was the non-seniors who led the Knights.

The Knights beat some good teams this season, including a Freeway League win over league champion and Division 1 playoff team Crean Lutheran and victories over CIF-SS quarterfinalists Dana Hills and St. Margaret’s. Foothill finished second in the Freeway League with a 6-2 league record.

Foothill first-year coach Aaron Wolfe said Wednesday might be the best the Knights have played this season.

“I would say this is as close to as good as we can play,” Wolfe said. “But I do think there is a lot of room for growth because we’re so young.”

Both teams had peaks and valleys over the five sets. Stringham said Foothill’s peaks were the result of basic teamwork.

“In our highest highs in this game we communicated really well,” Stringham said. “That really helps us play better, when we’re communicating.”

Corona del Mar had an outstanding non-senior on the court, too. Junior outside hitter Sophia Dajnowiec hit some blistering shots to score plenty of points.

A block by Grimes followed by a Grimes kill turned momentum Foothill’s way in the first set. Dajnowiec and Sea Kings senior Casi Doll led Corona del Mar to its second-set win.

Foothill took a big lead, 8-2, early in the third set and went on to win that one.

Corona del Mar turned away a late Foothill charge to win the fourth set 25-21 and tie the match at two sets apiece.

Stringham had three kills in the fifth set that Foothill controlled from the start for its 15-6 victory.