Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball upsets Loyola to reach third straight CIF final
For the third consecutive postseason, the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ volleyball championship match will feature Newport Harbor.
The Sailors staged a comeback at home to pull off the upset of top-seeded Los Angeles Loyola 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-12 on Saturday in the semifinals.
Senior outside hitter Brendan Read had 16 kills, three blocks and two service aces to lead the Sailors, who fed off a raucous home crowd after the first set and rode the wave of momentum to the finish.
“It’s really hard in this sport to get energy when your whole team is flat,” said Read, a Pepperdine commit. “When you have the fans and you’re at home, the fans help you a lot, getting the energy that you need. It’s a big plus. Fans help us so much.”
His opposite and brother Jake Read contributed eight kills for Newport Harbor (14-3). Junior setter Cole McKibbin distributed 37 assists to go with 1½ blocks, senior outside hitter Rees Clasen had 11 kills and two aces, and sophomore libero Luca Curci also had a pair of aces.
Loyola (13-1) was all over the net in the first set, as the Cubs combined for seven blocks. Teddy Terrill (seven kills), a USC-bound middle blocker, had all three of his blocks in Game 1.
James Eadie, who had five kills and five blocks overall for Newport Harbor, responded to the physicality of Loyola thereafter. He had four blocks over the next two sets, which the Sailors won comfortably.
Newport Harbor coach Eric Vallely is in his second year and first full season as the head coach of the Sailors after taking over for the retired Rocky Ciarelli. He said “it means everything” to get to the finals with the boys on his roster after his first season at the helm was cut short.
“These guys have really bought into the program, the plan that we had set forth, really going back to when we were shut off last year, so for about a year and a half now, and they have stuck with it,” Vallely said. “They worked hard in the weight room every single day, especially when we had no idea whether there was going to be a season.
“It’s all those little things of staying together, working out together, remaining positive and hopeful that I think really leads to this team’s success. They work so hard, and they never cease to amaze me.”
Dillon Klein led the Cubs with 12 kills and two blocks, and Cooper Robinson added seven kills and two blocks.
The Division 1 bracket was an exclusive one, with just eight teams competing for the title in the top division. Having spent the first two rounds at home, No. 4-seeded Newport Harbor will be on the road in the finals and will face No. 2-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the final scheduled for next Saturday.
Mira Costa defeated Corona del Mar on Saturday night.
Clasen was having flashbacks to the 2019 season, when Newport Harbor beat Mira Costa in both the CIF Division 1 final and the CIF State Southern California Regional Division I championship matches.
The season before, the Sailors fell to the Sea Kings in the Division 1 final.
“It’s exciting,” Clasen said of his team’s playoff run. “I was on this team two years ago. I was on the bench, but that run two years ago was something special.”
With one more win, Clasen could help the Sailors repeat as champions after a season that was lost a year ago.
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