PREP ROUNDUP : Marina Volleyball Closes In on Title by Beating Ocean View

Marina High School moved one step closer to clinching the Sunset League girls’ volleyball championship Tuesday night with a 15-8, 15-13, 15-6 victory over Ocean View at the Marina gym.

Cristin Rossman, a senior middle blocker, had 16 kills and four aces to lead the Vikings, ranked sixth in Orange County, to their 10th consecutive victory.

Marina (12-2, 9-0) has a two-game lead over second-place Fountain Valley with three matches to play. Ocean View dropped to 8-7, 4-6.

“I’m pleasantly surprised where we are right now,” Marina Coach Dennis Creighton said. “I had no idea where we would be at the beginning of the season.”

The Vikings, who start three sophomores, struggled early in their first two games.

They pulled away from a 6-6 tie in the first game and overcame deficits of 10-3 and 13-11 in the second game. Rossman had three kills and an ace to spark the streak in the second game.

“This wasn’t one of Cristin’s better nights,” Creighton said. “She was OK.

“We rely on quick setting and good passing to get her the ball. We didn’t pass very well at all. That hurt us offensively.”

Marina took target practice in the third game, building an 11-1 lead and rolling to a 15-6 victory.

Joleen Lewis and Shannon Speaker each had seven kills to lead Ocean View.