Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Greg Perrine

Barry Faulkner

Like athletes in one of those stylized Gatorade commercials, one

can almost see the competitive juices drip from Newport Harbor High

senior Greg Perrine. And though he leaves behind no colored puddles, it

is conquered opponents that usually collect at his feet.

“His strength is his overall game,” Sailors Coach Dan Glenn said of

the 6-foot-1 outside hitter, who led the Tars to their second straight

title in the Orange County Championships, completed Monday. “He’s a

tremendous passer, an outstanding hitter and he’s very good, defensively,

on balls hit right at him. But, most important, he’s a competitor.”

The Sea View League Most Valuable Player in basketball, Perrine’s play

at point guard conspicuously rose whenever the Sailors encountered

serious opposition.

And, on the volleyball court, it’s best not to agitate the three-year

varsity veteran with a strong challenge. It’s especially unwise to

provoke him with unsportsmanlike conduct, as Edison learned in an Orange

County Championships semifinal Saturday.

“The Edison setter said something to him when we were down, 10-6, in

the rally scoring (third) game,” Glenn said. “I don’t think Greg liked

what he said, because he took it to another level and we ended up winning

(6-15, 15-11, 15-13). I guess the Edison kid messed with the wrong guy.”

Perrine has clearly been the right guy for the Sailors thus far. In

the tournament alone, he collected 80 kills in six best-of-three match

victories, including 17 in a quarterfinal win over Marina and 17 more

against Edison.

He posted a match-high 12 kills in Harbor’s 15-5, 13-15, 15-10

title-match triumph over Northwood at Edison High. For his efforts, he

was named tournament MVP, as well as Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week.

“He finished last season as one of the top kids in high school,” Glenn

said of last year’s second-team All-Sea View League selection. A number

of people commented on how well he was playing at the end of last year

and he has just picked up where he left off this season.”

Perrine said his transition from basketball to volleyball had its

typically awkward moments. But, having missed the first seven games of

his senior basketball campaign due to surgery to repair a torn ACL,

sustained during the final week of the summer basketball season, Perrine

said he is just appreciative of the opportunity to, well, compete.

“It’s just great to be out there and I’m very excited about this

team,” Perrine said. “We ended up wining this tournament, but I don’t

think we’ve reached half of our potential. I think we have great

potential and I’m happy to be contributing.”

Perrine is one of several go-to hitters for Harbor, which, he

believes, is a plus.

“I think that’s what separates us from a lot of teams that have only

one or two really good players,” he said. “We have four strong hitters,

plus a great setter in (senior) Loyd Wright. I owe a lot of my success to

Loyd.”

Glenn said Perrine also owes a lot to his competitive fire, which the

veteran coach tries to continually stroke by setting up competitive

situations in practice.

“Greg is one of the guys we have with that refuse-to-lose mentality,”

Glenn said. “(Senior) Brian Gaeta is also a lot like that. I rarely put

them on the same team, so there’s always competition involved and

something has to give. Greg can have a tendency to fall asleep when its

not an intensely competitive situation. But with Brian on the other side

of the net, that doesn’t happen a lot in practice.”

Perrine said he will most likely play basketball in college

(destination unknown), but he would not rule out extending his volleyball

career.

“I want to keep my options open,” he said.

Now if only opponents could keep their mouths shut.