Girls volleyball: Sailors enjoy home cookin’

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - The road to the Division I State Girls Volleyball

Championship runs through Newport Harbor High’s gymnasium and that suits

Coach Dan Glenn just fine.

Enjoying the home atmosphere, the defending state champion Sailors,

fresh off of Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division I championship,

knocked off San Diego’s Poway High, 15-7, 15-9, 15-7 in Tuesday’s first

round action.

“Playing at home for these games is so huge,” Glenn said. “As long as

we keep on winning, we keep on playing here. That’s why we worked so hard

all season.”

The Sailors (34-2), after a slight sluggish start to the contest, had

little trouble getting past the Titans (25-7), who were CIF San Diego

Section Division I runners-up.

“Every game is going to be tougher and tougher,” Glenn said. “I’m just

extremely excited to be in this thing and we’re looking forward to our

next matchup, whoever it’s against.”

April Ross had 13 kills, while Heather Cullen added nine for the

Sailors.

After facing a smaller Mira Costa team in the Southern Section Finals,

Newport needed to adjust to the much taller Poway club as game one got

underway.

The Titans started the scoring with four quick points, before the

Sailors found a way to score.

“I was worried about Poway’s size more than anything,” Glenn. “We were

able to take a lot of free shots at Mira Costa and I was concerned about

how we would handle getting a couple balls sent right back us. It was

just a matter of us adjusting to what they were doing.”

With game one deadlocked at 7-7, Ross and Cullen took control with

numerous kills and blocks, while Katie King’s knuckleball serves proved

too much for the Titans as the Sailors ripped off the final eight points

for the 15-7, game-one win.

Cullen had six kills, while Ross added three in game one.

Poway’s 4-0 lead in game one was the last lead the Titans would get,

as Newport started hot in both games two and three.

Ross had eight kills in the second game to lead the Sailors, who

jumped out to an early 7-1 lead.

Poway got as close as 10-7, but the Titans ran out of opportunities

and the Sailors won game two, 15-9.

The Titans were the victim of several passing errors which led to

several Sailor points throughout the game.

Game three was all Newport. Dill’s strong serves rattled the Titans as

the Sailors jumped out to a 14-2 lead.

Poway clawed back to 14-7, but an ace by Andrea Schutz ended the

contest and moved the Sailors into a showdown with Mater Dei, who

defeated Torrey Pines, 15-7, 15-8, 15-8.

The Monarchs managed to give the Sailors one of their two losses of

the season, winning on Newport’s court, 15-11, 16-18, 15-8, 19-17 on Oct.

15.

Is Glenn looking forward to the rematch with the Monarchs? If he is,

he’s not saying.

“I’m just happy to still be playing,” a modest Glenn said. “All I can

do is worry about my team. It doesn’t matter who we play. All I know is

we have to be ready to play on Saturday. Mater Dei has beat us here, so

obviously they don’t mind playing here.”

Despite the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Glenn is anticipating a

good size crowd for the matchup with the Monarchs with a little help from

the gridiron.

“It’s going to help having our football team still in the playoffs,”

Glenn said. “Hopefully that and us will keep the students in town and

they’ll be here Saturday night. It should be a good one.”