Two relatively young teams -- Sunnyslope quite relevant of late and Corona del Sol yearning to return to that status -- hooked up Tuesday night in a doozy of a girls volleyball  match

Corona del Sol, the underdog in this one, looked like it can be a factor in the Division I race by outlasting the defending Division II champions, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 15-9 at air-conditioned-starved Corona del Sol.

Corona del Sol ran its record to 2-0 while Sunnyslope, playing its season opener, lost a rare power-ranking match. Sunnyslope didn't lose a set last year in power-ranking matches until the final match of the regular season. Sunnyslope was on the verge of going up 2 sets to none in this one, but Corona rallied late in the second set to win and it was match on from there.

"Sunnyslope is a great team," Corona del Sol coach Ben Maxfield said. "They're a great measuring stick for us. After we won the third set (for a 2-1 lead) I told our girls if you think the defending champs are going to fall apart you'll be wrong."

Sunnyslope responded just as Maxfield anticipated. Making a couple defensive changes, Sunnyslope regained the moxy it had in the opening set and won going away to even the match. Led by junior setter and all-around talent Katie Oleksak and junior outside Skylar Wine, Sunnyslope seemed to have the momentum back for the final set. Corona had other ideas.

Corona, which  seasoned several players in last year's .500 season, added more youth to a youth-experienced mix. The Aztecs showcased plenty of size and were particularly sturdy on the block as they grabbed the lead for good in the final set 3-2 on one of 11 blocks from junior Hayden Warnock.

Corona didn't waste time expanding the lead to 11-5. Helping the cause with three kills in that interval was freshman middle-opposite Emma West. Sunnyslope closed the gap to 11-8, but more blocks from sophomore middle Lauren Forte with help from Alyson Seall plus a kill by Erica Ronda and Corona nailed down the victory.

"This was a great match to open with," Sunnyslope coach Amber LeTarte said. "I loved a lot of the things we did. I saw some fight and the desire to not give up/ There are things we need to work on, but overall AI liked what I saw. We were excited to face Corona. I think they're going to have a good year."

Corona has missed the D-I playoffs the last two seasons, getting bumped by section champs or teams that received automatic berths below them in the power-rankings.

"I think we have a chance not to let that happen this year," Maxfield said.

Maxfield played 10 players quite a bit and said the six others he has rostered are pretty good players as well. The top two attackers that returned this season, led Corona in kills on Tuesday night. Junior Danielle Sullivan had 12 kills and Ronda added 11. Forte and Warnock had 11 blocks apiece and senior Alyssa Meyer came up with 32 digs. Meyer and Seall were the only seniors that played Tuesday for Corona.

Pacing Sunnyslope unofficially with 20 kills was Wine, who had segments of dominance and some of frustration presented by Corona's relentless block. Sunnyslope was particularly effective in the fourth set when four players collected between four and six kills (Wine, Oleksak, Sydney Miller and Libby Fleury).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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