ON TO THE QUARTERS!

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - Upon watching the Newport Harbor High girls

volleyball team during warmups, San Gabriel Coach Larry Kanow, with a

painful smile, realistically hoped that his team would be able to at

least serve 20 times against the mighty Sailors.

They managed to reach 31 serves total, but that’s where the highlights

ended for the Almont League Champions as Newport Harbor moved on to the

quarterfinals with a 15-2, 15-3, 15-8 second round win in the CIF

Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs.

“We were able to get all the kids in tonight and I’m very happy about

that,” Sailors Coach Dan Glenn said. “We’re still trying to get better

and we’ve been having some great practices. I think we’re definitely

heading in the right direction.

For the Sailors (30-2) the direction of choice will be toward Rolling

Hills Estates on Saturday night, when they take on Peninsula in the

quarterfinals at 7.

“The thing about the playoffs is that they are so bunched together,”

Glenn said. “You have to be ready for anything. that’s what makes it so

fun.”

In a game played by everyone, April Ross led the Sailors with nine

kills, Krista Dill had eight, Brenda Waterman had six and Taylor Govaars

added five for the Sailors, ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division I-AA.

Newport got it going early in game one. Dill and Heather Cullen were

the big hitters as the Sailors never trailed and won, 15-2.

After a brief lead for San Gabriel (14-2), Newport ripped off 11

points on the serve of Andrea Schutz, before taking game two, 15-3.

Schutz finished with five aces on the night.

Game three allowed Glenn to get in a couple of freshmen from the

junior varsity squad, Kristin McClune and Claire Allen.

“They both got some playing time tonight and they both played rather

well,” Glenn said.

Despite falling behind, 5-0, to the pesky Matadors, Newport Harbor

easily managed to get back in the game on the strong play of Signe

Hillyard, Govaars and Dill.

“We’ve been trying some new things with Krista the past few days,”

Glenn said. “She really did a good job doing some of those new things

tonight.”

San Gabriel got as close as, 9-8, before Newport scored the final six

points to end the match.

“We’re just excited to keep on playing,” Glenn said. “We still need a

little more work on our timing, but we’re getting there. I feel we still

made some positive steps tonight.”

What about Saturday’s opponent, Peninsula

“I haven’t been able to see them,” Glenn said. “We’ve got someone

taping the game, so I’ll find out more when I see the tape.”

With 32 games under their belt, the Sailors definitely can’t use

inexperience as an excuse as the playoffs roll on.

“We’ve played against the best teams in the area, in the state and in

other states,” Glenn said. “We’ve got two down, but there’s still a bunch

of work left to be done.”