Boys volleyball: Tars tussle with Mater Dei

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Even in boys boys volleyball, Newport Harbor High

Coach Dan Glenn said the following concepts apply:

1) Mater Dei holds mystique.

2) Defense wins championships.

Glenn hopes the latter supersedes the latter when the top-seeded

Sailors (13-7) clash with the No. 4-seeded Monarchs (24-7) tonight at 7

o’clock in a CIF Southern Section Division III semifinal at Costa Mesa

High.

“Defense is what wins in the playoffs, in any sport, and I thought we

played our best defensive match of the year the other night,” Glenn said

of the Sailors’ 15-5, 15-8, 15-9 quarterfinal triumph over Dos Pueblos.

“And with a couple football players and a few basketball players on my

team, I know I won’t have to say much to get them fired up to play Mater

Dei.”

It’s third meeting of the season between the Sailors and Monarchs.

Mater Dei won the first clash, 15-11, 15-17, 15-8, at the Francis Parker

Tournament in San Diego. The Tars, however, prevailed, 15-8, 10-15,

15-12, in the quarterfinals of the Orange County Championships.

“We match up,” Glenn said. “Both matches were pretty even and I think

we even split with them twice last year.”

The Monarchs, runner-up to Santa Margarita in the Serra League, lost

in the Division II title match last year to Gahr. Coach Tom Costanzo

starts six seniors, who obviously played big roles last season.

Newport, second behind Irvine in the Sea View League, has played for

the CIF Division I title the last two years, winning in 1999 and dropping

a five-game decision to crosstown rival Corona del Mar last spring. The

Tars have played in six section title matches, five under Glenn’s

guidance, and have three championships (1980, ’87 and ‘99).

Mater Dei, a national power in football and basketball and dominant

within the Southern Section in virtually every sport, had never played

for a section boys volleyball crown before last season.

“It should be a good match,” Glenn said. “We’ll have our hands full.”

Mater Dei is led by Mike Gazzano, whom Glenn said may be the best

setter in Orange County, as well as 6-foot-4 outside hitter Jon Daze and

Tim Van Klaveren. Van Klaveren and Daze had 20 and 19 kills,

respectively, in a 15-5, 15-9, 15-1 quarterfinal sweep of Redondo.

Newport Harbor has been keyed by 6-4 senior outside hitter Blake

Tippett, junior outside hitters Morgan Craig and Greg Perrine, junior

setter Loyd Wright, as well as 6-5 senior middle blocker Christian

Berg-Hansen.

Tonight’s winner advances to Saturday’s title match against either No.

2-seeded Santa Margarita or unseeded Moorpark.