Girls volleyball: History in the making

Richard Dunn

CYPRESS - History has a tendency to repeat itself, especially with

Newport Harbor High and Mira Costa in girls volleyball.

The two perennial CIF Southern Section powerhouses will square off

today at 1 p.m. in the Division II-AA championship match at Cypress

College.

“I always schedule the (Mira Costa) boys (for a preleague match), but

I never schedule (the Mustangs) in girls, and I never will,” Newport

Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said, “because you always have the feeling that if

you’re having a good year, you’ll face them in the playoffs. We don’t

need to play in the preseason.”

Since 1985, the two schools have met in the playoffs eight times,

including four times in the finals and three times in the semifinals.

“Mira Costa’s in the thick of things every single year,” said Glenn,

who will be seeking his sixth CIF championship since taking over as head

coach in 1986.

Newport Harbor (21-9), seeded second, will be aiming for its seventh

section title in the sport and fourth in five years, but top-seeded Mira

Costa (28-5) should provide the Sailors with their biggest challenge, by

far, of the postseason.

The Sailors, who have not allowed an opponent more than seven points

in any of their nine postseason games (three matches following a

first-round bye), dominated all three games against Marmonte League

champion Westlake (27-3) in the semifinals Tuesday to advance, 15-3,

15-4, 15-5.

Mira Costa’s Mustangs, who won the Division I-A championship last

year, advanced with a 15-10, 15-11, 8-15, 15-6 semifinal victory over

Ventura.

“We have a history with Mira Costa,” Glenn said. “Some of my kids went

to playoff games when they were in grammar school and saw Newport Harbor

play Mira Costa, and I’m sure some of (the current Mustangs) saw Mira

Costa play Newport, too.”

Newport Harbor beat Mira Costa for the 1994 Division I title, then the

Mustangs knocked out the Sailors in the semifinals in 1995 and ’96.

Newport defeated Mira Costa in the 1997 Division I-AA championship

match and again in 1999 for the same section title.

In this year’s Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions Oct. 19, Mira

Costa swept the Tars, 15-3, 15-8, 17-15.

“We just got hammered and made a lot of unforced errors,” Glenn said.

“But who knows what’s going to happen (today)? The main thing is that we

battle and fight. We’re playing a great opponent and hopefully we’ll be

playing on all cylinders. And the history Mira Costa has in volleyball

adds a lot to (the thrill of the title match).”

The Sailors have come on strong since losing to Irvine in a Sea View

League first-place showdown Oct. 23, winning six straight matches.

Newport Harbor is led by 6-foot-3 junior middle blocker Kristen

McClune, who has played steady all season, while senior setter Katie King

has been rock solid.

Senior middle blocker Liz Lord “has played great the last few weeks,”

Glenn said, and senior outside hitter Andrea Trinen has improved

tremendously. Christine Woller, a 6-1 senior opposite, and sophomore

outside hitter Alyson Jennings have performed at peak levels in the

postseason.

For Mira Costa, which features four 6-foot middle blockers, outside

hitter Jessica Veris leads the way, while UCLA-bound Teryn Spragg and

Renee Lopes are 6-foot middle blockers. Brooke Phillips, a junior

opposite, is also 6-foot.

Senior setter Nora Pirzynski and sophomore outside hitter Sydney

Donahue, who reminds Glenn a lot of his own Jennings, round out the

regulars for the Mustangs.