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The Volleyball Spot: County Powers Headed to Poway for 'Best of West'

Santa Margarita, ranked the top team in the nation by ESPN Rise, continues its season in weekend tournament that marks debuts of Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor.

There’s a quote from a favorite artist of mine that fits perfectly for this introduction: “Half short, twice strong.”

I’m Chris Tobolski, formerly of the Orange County Register and OCVarsity.com, and this won’t take long. I’ve covered girls and boys volleyball since 2005, when I caught the vibe and was struck immediately with what the volleyball world sees. It’s the spot to be, but enough about me.

One of the season’s showcase tournaments begins Friday in San Diego, the Best of the West Invitational hosted by Poway High.

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Santa Margarita, ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN Rise, headlines a seven-team county contingency.

“The ranking is very, very flattering,” Santa Margarita coach Bryan Cottriel said, “but I don’t know if it’s deserved at this point.”

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Other teams include Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar, both of which make their season debuts with new-look lineups.

Huntington Beach, Edison, Servite and Orange Lutheran round out the group, while San Clemente is sitting out the tournament for the second consecutive season.

Tritons coach Ken Goldstone said he felt skipping it last year kept his team fresh for the Orange County Championships, which are March 18 and 19 this year. It’s hard to dispute his point. The Tritons upset top-seeded Esperanza and reached the gold bracket a season ago.  

Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar’s starting groups are working keeping an eye on at the Best of the West.

The Sailors lost a talented trio from last year’s quarterfinalist team in setter Jackson Carmack, libero Connor Curry and middle blocker Will Connelly. However, Cody Caldwell is still on the roster and that makes Newport Harbor dangerous. The University of Loyola-Chicago commit is arguably the county’s top all-around player. The team’s main question is replacing Carmack at setter. You might see a couple guys play that position this weekend.

Corona del Mar, though it says goodbye to outside hitters Weston Nielson and Joey Booth, has fewer questions to answer.  The Sea Kings have a strong lineup of hitters that includes seniors Evan Dean and Spencer Haly and junior Parker Brown. They also return senior setter Nick Curci.

Considering it's going to be their opening weekend, I don’t think Newport Harbor or Corona del Mar will put much stock into this weekend’s results. In fact, Corona del Mar started the season slowly last year before rallying strong on Day 2 of the Orange County Championships. I suspect something similar this year from the Sea Kings.

Santa Margarita is in a different spot.

After starting the season with victories over Loyola of Los Angeles and Edison, the nation’s top team wants to further strengthen its CIF Southern Section Division 1 resume at the Best of the West.

“We are going to see some teams we aren’t going to see the rest of the season,” Cottriel said. “Some of these teams, if we don’t beat them now, it will affect us later on in the seeding.”

Santa Margarita will see Division 1 contenders Loyola, Mira Costa of Manhattan and Westlake, along with Northern California power Bellarmine, ranked No. 12 by ESPN Rise, at the tournament. There’s a good chance the Eagles will face at least two of those teams.

“It’s going to be a good tournament,” Cottriel said. “We are excited. The guys are ready. There are high expectations.”

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"The Volleyball Spot" is  Chris Tobolski's weekly column that will appear on all of Patch's Orange County sites.

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