Sailors dig way to victory

NEWPORT BEACH — Dan Glenn looked at the stat sheet Thursday night, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“What?” he asked nobody in particular, repeating himself for emphasis.

The stat that was so hard for the Newport Harbor High boys’ volleyball coach to believe? Senior Mark Liebermann had five digs in the Sailors’ 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 Sunset League sweep of Esperanza at Newport Harbor.

Glenn first called over his assistant coaches, then Liebermann himself to confirm the stat. After all, the 6-foot-5 outside hitter bound for UC Santa Barbara is more known for pounding kills down the line, and he did earn a match-high 13 kills against the Aztecs.

But the Sailors, who head to the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions beginning today, had been working on digging all week in practice. It was what also helped 6-foot-8 senior setter Kyle Caldwell make a career-high nine digs against Esperanza, which went together nicely with his 10 kills, 26 assists, two blocks and three service aces.

“We focused on digging all this week, and I just worked extra-hard on being ready for the ball and trying to be in the right spot,” said Caldwell, who’s headed to UCLA. “It ended up coming right to me.”

Newport Harbor (18-3, 5-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, was in the right spot often against an Esperanza squad that won the Division I title last year, but is young this year. The Aztecs (4-10, 1-5) have just four seniors, and only two of them — setter Timothy Kutnick and outside hitter Joey Toledo — started on Thursday. Toledo had a team-high nine kills.

Still, Esperanza was in the match in Game 1, as close as 15-11 before the Sailors won five points in a row on serving from senior Luc Heasley, including an ace.

“Luc’s done that lately, and that really helps us a lot,” Glenn said. “Emotionally, it picks everyone up when someone can do that coming off the bench. He’s a senior and he’s worked really hard, and he has a tough serve. He’s going to play in all these matches coming up, and he’s going to have to make big plays for us to do well.”

Newport Harbor never trailed in either Game 2 or Game 3, although the Tars hit a bit of a snag after getting their first match point, at 24-12, after a Caldwell kill.

Esperanza won five points in a row, before Caldwell’s block ended the match.

Senior Tucker Peleuses, bound for USC, had five kills and three digs for the Sailors, and senior Jamie Galey and junior Hamilton Day added four digs each. Freshman Cody Caldwell had four kills and a block.

Esperanza Coach Isaac Owens was impressed. He said he’s rooting for the Sailors to win CIF this year, which would make it a three-peat for the Sunset League. Edison won the Division I title two years ago.

“I hope [the Sailors] win,” Owens said. “For the Sunset League to win CIF three years in a row, that would say a lot about our league ... Newport’s high-ball hitters are really good. Tucker and Liebermann do a real nice job, and Caldwell does a real nice job for them, too. It’s a Dan Glenn team; he’s not going to let them get complacent.”

For now, Newport Harbor is focused on Santa Barbara, where the Sailors could have a tough second-round match against Foothill today. The Sailors open against Santa Ynez today at 2:30 p.m. at Santa Barbara High.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].