CdM gets No. 1 seed in Division II-AA

The Corona del Mar High girls’ volleyball team is the No. 1 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs, for which pairings were announced Sunday.

Newport Harbor (Division I-AA), Estancia (Division II-AA) and Sage Hill (Division IV-AA) also qualified for the postseason, which begins Tuesday. All matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Sea Kings (20-6), who won the Pacific Coast League with an 8-0 record, receive a first-round bye and will open at home on Thursday.

The winner of Tuesday’s first-round match between Walnut (14-11) and Santiago of Corona (6-10) will meet the Sea Kings in the second round.

Newport Harbor (22-5), which shared the Sunset League crown with Los Alamitos but is the league’s No. 2 playoff representative, is at home Tuesday against Semi Valley (13-11), the fourth-place entry from the Marmonte League.

Estancia (19-9), which finished second behind Laguna Beach in the Orange Coast League, will play host to Troy (16-4), which finished third in the Freeway League.

Sage Hill (10-16), which captured the section championship last season in Division IV-A, is on the road Tuesday, when it will meet St. Paul (11-8), the runner-up in the Camino Real League.

CdM, coached by Bill Christiansen, is bidding for the program’s second section title in three seasons. The Sea Kings, who missed the playoffs last year, believed to be their first postseason absence in more than two decades, claimed the section title in Division III-A in 2004.

Christiansen’s veteran squad features 6-foot-3 senior outside hitter Juliane Piggott, senior setter Kelly Christian, 6-1 senior middle blocker Kasey Kipp, who is bound for UC Santa Barbara, senior Brooke Terry, as well as juniors Jamie Lawson and Ashley Pries.

CdM is bidding for the program’s eight section championship. Before missing the postseason last year, CdM had, in consecutive years advanced to the section final twice in a row, preceded by five straight eliminations in the section semifinals.

The Sea Kings have been in the section title match 14 times.

Coach Dan Glenn’s Newport Harbor squad, which last won a section title in 2002 (Division II-AA) may be peaking at the right time. The Sailors swept CdM, 25-19, 26-24, 25-7, in the Battle of the Bay Friday, one day after defeating Los Al to earn a share of the league championship.

The Sailors rely upon seniors Katie Wells and Megan Toman, juniors Alseha Young, the setter and captain, Jamie Heenan and Megan Munce, as well as sophomore Mary Buckingham.

The Sailors have claimed seven section crowns and played in 12 section title matches.

Estancia, coached by Jim Huffman, is in its second straight postseason, after missing the playoffs for six straight years.

The Eagles are keyed by senior setter Stacie Watson, 6-0 senior middle blocker Jaye Hellmich and senior outside hitter Taylor Brown.

Sage Hill, guided by Dan Thomassen is led by senior setter Kelsey Lawler, an All-CIF Division IV-AA honoree last season.

Senior Kelly Hutchinson, junior outside hitter Colleen Heyler and freshman outside hitter Lindsey Kish have also been big contributors for the Lightning.

The second round is schedule for Thursday, with the quarterfinals slated to take place Saturday.

The remaining seeds in II-AA are No. 2 Laguna Beach, No. 3 Norco and No. 4 Ayala.

A potential semifinal meeting between Ayala and CdM would take place Nov. 14.

The finals are scheduled Nov. 17 and 18, with details to be determined after the semifinals.

If Newport wins Tuesday, it would face either Vista Murrieta (24-5), champion of the Southwestern League, or former Sea View League rival Foothill (14-12) Thursday.

Should Sage Hill win Tuesday, it would likely face No. 2-seeded Arrowhead Christian Academy (20-0), the champion of the Christian League.

A victory Tuesday would propel Estancia into the second round against either Del Ray League champion Bishop Montgomery (16-10) or Irvine (12-11), an at-large entry from the Pacific Coast League.