Boys volleyball: Tars rally twice but fall short

Tony Altobelli

IRVINE - Round one goes to the Irvine High boys volleyball team,

but not by much.

Down 2-0 in games to the host Vaqueros, Newport Harbor refused to die

and despite the 15-5, 15-11, 6-15, 9-15, 17-15 Sea View League loss, the

Sailors are already licking their chops for the rematch at Newport on

April 12.

“Our guys hung in there and I’m proud of them for that,” Newport Coach

Dan Glenn said. “We spotted them the first two games, but we regrouped

and we played tough.”

The 0-2 hole wasn’t the only obstacle the Sailors (2-4, 0-1) overcame.

Newport, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division III, trailed 11-3

in Game 5, but fought back to even things up at 14-14, only to see Irvine

(6-1, 1-0), ranked No. 6 in Division II, pull out the win.

“We had that big run in the final game and apparently we needed every

one of those points,” Irvine Coast Mark Mednick said. “We knew that

Newport was not going to lose this match, we were going to have to win

it.”

After a sloppy first couple of games, Newport regrouped and took

control of Game 3. Blake Tippett, back from an ankle injury, led the

Sailors with 24 kills, while junior Greg Perrine added 21.

Trying to overcome to 6-foot-7 Vaqueros hitters, UCLA-bound Kris

Kraushaar (27 kills, 20 digs) and Jay Jensen (27 kills, 20 digs), Newport

countered with 6-7 Jamie Diefenbach. The freshman’s blocking and

enthusiasm rubbed off on the rest of the team as Newport led Game 3 from

start to finish.

Newport trailed 4-2 in Game 4 before a 5-0 spurt turned the momentum

back to the Sailors. Irvine managed to tie the game at 7-7 before

gift-wrapping seven straight points to the Sailors on errors.

“We stopped digging and we got on our heels,” Mednick said. “We played

awful and we brought them back into the match.”

Unfortunately for the Sailors, the gift of giving was a two-sided

street. With Game 5 tied at 2-2, Irvine went on a 9-1 run, with all nine

points coming on errant kill attempts by Newport.

“I don’t think it was a matter of being tired or anything,” Glenn

said. “I just think we missed our chances. We’re getting better and

that’s what matters.”

Tippett put together a string of inspired play to help Newport claw

back into the match. His three kills and two big digs, to go along with

two wide Irvine kill attempts helped spark Newport’s 6-0 run, cutting the

lead to 11-9.

Irvine scored three of the next four points for a 14-11 lead, but

Newport still refused to go away.

The Sailors overcame three match points. Two Tippett kills and a

service winner by Perrine brought Newport even at 14-14.

Both teams traded points for a 15-15 score before Jardine came through

with a kill and Jay Jensen (16 digs) blocked a Newport smash to end the

two-hour battle.

Christian Berg-Hansen added 17 kills, while Morgan Craig chipped in 14

for the Sailors.

“In terms of league, this was a huge match for us,” Glenn said. “I

think the only team that can beat Irvine is us, so we’ve got a long road

to climb.”