GAMERS

The CIF Southern Section girls volleyball playoffs are underway and

both Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar will be hosting early-round

matches tonight at 7 p.m.

The Sailors (15-9) opened their Division I-A playoffs on Tuesday with

a 15-0, 15-7, 15-10 win over University in first-round action. They will

host Hart in the tonight’s second-round action.

“I don’t know anything about Hart,” Sailors Coach Dan Glenn said.

“Sometimes you just have to worry about your own team and take care of

our group. Our last two matches are probably the best two matches we’ve

played all season.”

In the win over Uni, Taylor Govaars had a match-high 12 kills, while

Katie King dished out 38 assists.

The Sailors also had Heather Cullen back on the court for the first

time since last season. The UCLA-bound senior has been recovering from a

torn right anterior cruciate ligament.

“It’s just great having her back on the court for us,” Glenn said.

The Indians took care of Thousand Oaks on Tuesday, 15-6, 15-6, 15-10.

A win over Hart would put Newport Harbor into the quarterfinals and a

matchup with Huntington Beach or Rubidoux on Saturday.

The Sea Kings (16-8), co-Pacific Coast League champions with Laguna

Beach, will open the Division III-AA playoffs against San Dimas.

“That’s the nice thing about the playoffs is that you get to play some

new teams,” Sea Kings Coach Steve Conti said. “Our practices have been

very good the past few days. We’ve brought up some JV players so it makes

the practices much more competitive.”

With a win tonight, CdM, the No. 3 seed in Division III-AA, will play

again on Saturday against the winner of Nordhoff and Santa Ynez at a site

to be determined.

Elsewhere today:

The Newport Harbor boys water polo team (23-5), Sea View League

champions and ranked No. 1 in Division I, will host Millikan at 3:15.

“Our team is very focused and they’re ready to go,” Sailors Coach

Brian Kreutzkamp said. “A majority of them are seniors so they know it’s

now or never.”

A Sailors’ win would give them a quarterfinals contest on Tuesday

against either Loyola or Canyon.

“Loyola is a very good team,” Sailors Coach Brian Kreutzkamp said.

“You’ve got to watch for them. You lose a coin flip and go up there, it

can be a real tough matchup.”

The Sailors’ girls tennis team, runners-up in the Sea View League and

seeded No. 4, will host Savanna in the first round of the Division III

playoffs at 2 p.m.

In the Sea View League individual championships, Sailor teammates

Kelly Nelson and Megan Hawkins squared off with Nelson coming out a 6-0,

6-3 winner.

In collegiate action, the Orange Coast College women’s water polo team

(25-6-1), ranked No. 2 in the state, will play in the quarterfinals of

the Southern California Regionals at noon against the winner of Fullerton

and Cuesta at Mt. San Antonio College.