Boys volleyball: Tars sweep past Dos Pueblos

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - Taking a page from the Lakers, Newport Harbor High

Coach Dan Glenn is teaching his players to close out teams after

comfortable leads.

Friday night was a good test for the top-seeded Sailors as they

defeated visiting Dos Pueblos, 15-5, 15-8, 15-9, in the quarterfinals of

the CIF Southern Section Division III boys volleyball playoffs.

“In the first game of our last round (against Valencia), we won 15-3,

but then we got way down (before winning, 15-13, 15-4),” Glenn said. “So

we talked about that. The Lakers last year had a hard time closing out

teams, but they turned that around this year. We don’t want that

problem.”

For Newport Harbor’s seniors, led by Blake Tippett and Christian

Berg-Hansen, it was their final match at home. The Tars will play

fourth-seeded Mater Dei in the semifinals Wednesday at a neutral site,

and, if they make it, the title match May 26 at Cypress College.

“(The Sailors) are obviously a very good team,” said Dos Pueblos Coach

Mike Beresford, whose team, based north of Santa Barbara in Goleta, took

four hours to arrive in Newport Beach, while lasting only 67 minutes on

the court.

“They took us out to the woodshed and really put the hammer to us.

They serve very tough and don’t make a lot of mistakes.”

After it was tied in the first game, 5-5, Newport Harbor scored 10

unanswered points in a hurry -- mainly on fine serving by Christian

Berg-Hansen and Greg Perrine.

“All of the sudden, the dam busted,” said Beresford, whose team (13-8)

finished second in the Channel League. “Suddenly, it was 15-5. We were

hurting puppies a little bit. I think we lost our poise a little. (The

Sailors) put pressure on us, because they serve tough and don’t make

mistakes.”

Newport Harbor (13-7) was led by Perrine’s 11 kills and junior setter

Loyd Wright’s 36 assists. Morgan Craig (nine kills and two service aces),

Berg-Hansen (seven kills), Blake Tippett (five) and Erik Peterson (three)

provided a balanced attack.

“Our top guy (Tippett) didn’t have his best game of the year and we

still played well. That’s a good sign in the playoffs,” said Glenn, who

added that it was his team’s best defensive performance of the season.

“That’s the best we’ve dug, and we blocked well and didn’t make too many

errors.”

Unlike the match against Valencia, Harbor did not let down in the

second game. In the third game, the hosts built leads of 6-0 and 10-5,

but Dos Pueblos rallied to pull to within 10-9. The Tars, however, shut

down the Chargers the rest of the way.

“I thought we did a nice job tonight,” Glenn said.