Boys volleyball: Newport passes Long Beach Poly
Joseph Boo
LONG BEACH - Well, at least the Jackrabbits still have their dates.
Meanwhile, Newport Harbor High has another match in the second round of
the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs on Tuesday.
The visiting Sailors jumped on host Long Beach Poly early and held on for
a 15-7, 15-7, 8-15, 15-9 victory Thursday in a CIF first-round match that
was moved up a day because of Long Beach Poly’s prom.
While the Jackrabbits are dancing, Newport will find out who it will face
next when favored San Clemente and Corona meet in a first-round match
tonight.
The Sailors (18-5, ranked No. 9 in Division I and runner-up in the Sea
View League) had little trouble in winning their first two games by 15-7
scores. Brad Craig recorded two of Newport’s first three points with a
kill and block as the Sailors took a quick 5-1 lead.
The only times Newport ran into trouble in the first two games were after
Long Beach Poly timeouts. After a timeout in the first game, the
Jackrabbits (16-2 and Moore League Champions) pulled to 6-4. But two
mistakes proved costly, and the Sailors ran away with the first game
behind Billy Clayton and Blake Tippett.
Another Long Beach Poly timeout came after Newport took a 6-1 lead in the
second game. Thanks to some Sailors’ miscues, the lead was cut to 7-6.
But Long Beach Poly started making too many mental errors. The
Jackrabbits’ spirits visibly sagged when Newport’s Dustin Illingworth
blocked Long Beach Poly’s 6-7 Jim Kresl three times on two points.
But the Sailors started the third game very slowly, hitting balls in the
net and racking up violations. The Jackrabbits jumped out to a 7-1 lead
en route to a 15-8 win.
“In the first two games, we were pretty disciplined,” Newport Coach Dan
Glenn said. “But they’re a good team, and they’re not going to quit on
each other.”
After the Jackrabbits won a game, Long Beach Poly and its fans were more
expressive. The fourth game was a seesaw affair, with both teams dueling
to a 9-9 tie.
After a string of sideouts, Clayton rammed a spike down on Long Beach
Poly’s side to give the Sailors a 10-9 lead. On the next point, Craig and
Clayton combined to block Kresl, who led his team with 24 kills. Clayton
and Tippett it home for Newport.
The Sailors got a typically balanced attack from its players. Clayton and
Tippett led the team with 21 and 13 kills, respectively.
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