Volleyball Playoffs : Laguna Beach Takes a Shot at No. 1 Irvine

Moments after her team gutted out a 5-game girls’ volleyball victory over Corona del Mar High School in the Southern Section 5-A quarterfinals Tuesday, Laguna Beach Coach Lisa Mariotti was given the obligatory hugs and handshakes and then presented with the inevitable.

Her team must play top-seeded Irvine in tonight’s semifinals at Woodbridge High School.

The news was greeted with half-smile, half-grimace, the type of reaction you’d expect from someone whose team is 48 hours away from playing one that appears almost unbeatable.

Mariotti admits it’s a task and a half, but she said she believes her team can beat Irvine. The evidence seems to point elsewhere.

Irvine is 16-0, defending state champion and has the formidable frame and talents of 6-foot 2-inch Bev Oden on its side.

Unlike the tribulations suffered by Laguna Beach in the quarterfinals--the Artists trailed in games, 2-1, before rallying--Irvine simply crushed Hueneme, 15-4, 15-3, 15-6.

Irvine is so good, Coach Mark McKenzie admits that if his team does not win the 5-A title many people will consider Irvine’s season a disappointment.

So what does Laguna Beach (17-3) have going for it? Like Irvine, it’s an experienced team. More importantly, Sara Nelson, who was slowed most of the season with a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder, is healthy. She had 19 kills against Corona del Mar and was the player Laguna Beach looked to when things got tight.

“She was tentative for most of the season because of it (the injury),” Mariotti said Tuesday. “But you could see she wasn’t tentative tonight.”

Besides Nelson, Mariotti has two other good hitters in Liz Stahl and Summer Sieg, as well as an exceptional setter in Angie Rush.

“I know they’re a great team,” Mariotti said. “But I think we have the depth to play with them. I think we can win. We’ll have to play very disciplined, but I think we can win.”

Whichever team does win will face an undefeated opponent in the final, Mira Costa (21-0) and Santa Barbara (18-0) meet in the other 5-A semifinal.

In the 4-A division, Edison (13-2), seeded fourth, plays No. 1 Gahr (17-0) tonight at Cerritos High. Both teams advanced with 4-game victories in the quarterfinals, though Edison’s victory over Newbury Park was a bit easier than Gahr’s over Marina. Gahr lost the first game, 23-21, before regrouping.

Sunny Hills (17-2), No. 1 in 3-A, plays Villa Park (15-4) at Canyon High in Anaheim. Both teams won quarterfinal matches in 3 games. In the other semifinal tonight, El Modena (19-4) plays Los Altos (15-1) at Orange High.

El Modena is a surprise in this division. The No. 3 team out of the Century League, it defeated Calabasas in 4 games in the quarterfinals.