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.