Girls volleyball: Pilots land Lord

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High senior middle blocker Liz Lord,

a first-team All-Sea View League and All-Newport-Mesa District girls

volleyball performer as a junior last fall, has verbally committed to

accept a scholarship from Portland University.

Lord, 5-foot-11, said she chose the West Coast Conference Pilots over

Georgia Tech, New York University, North Carolina, Colorado State and

Brown.

“I visited the campus (Aug. 13-14) and I loved the coaches, the campus

and the team,” Lord said. “I thought the city was cool and it’s close

enough to home.”

Lord, somewhat undersized for a college middle blocker, said the fact

that Portland coaches would allow her to stay at her preferred position

also gave the Pilots an edge.

Lord plays club volleyball for Golden West, which she helped win the

18-and-under title at last season’s Junior Olympics.

Lord continues a string of Sailor middle blockers who earned

scholarships in recent years. Heather Cullen, who graduated in June, is

now at UCLA, while Krista Dill (Class of 2000) and Kathy Lavold (Class of

‘99) signed with Duke and Boston College, respectively. Lavold has since

transferred to Columbia.