Boys volleyball: Tars seize command

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High boys volleyball coach Dan Glenn

was up well past his bedtime Thursday, tending to his infant child. But,

with the way his Sailors dispatched visiting Woodbridge in a showdown of

Sea View League unbeatens Friday night, he doesn’t figure to lose much

sleep worrying about whether the Tars, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, can

improve upon their second-place league finish of a year ago.

“This was a good win,” Glenn said following the 15-10, 15-12, 15-8

sweep of the No. 4-ranked Warriors. “It gives us some breathing room.”

The victory improved Newport Harbor to 16-5, 4-0 in league, as it

becomes the first of five Sea View schools to complete the first round

of league play.

Woodbridge (2-1 in league) now joins those looking up at Harbor in the

standings, biding its time until getting a rematch April 30 on the

Warriors’ floor.

“We want to be No. 1 coming out of the Sea View League, because there

are a lot of tough teams in our (CIF Southern Section Division II),”

Glenn said.

The Sailors outlasted more than dominated the Warriors, following

through on Glenn’s belief they could wear the taller, less-skilled

Warriors down.

“They’re a big team that sometimes has trouble with ball control,”

Glenn said. “I thought if we could extend some games, I liked our

chances.”

The Sailors were forced to take the long view in the first two games,

as Woodbridge claimed leads well into both.

Woodbridge, which starts five seniors, including USC-bound setter

Blake Searles and high-flying 6-foot-4 outside hitter Scott Sebek (a

match-high 24 kills), claimed a 9-7 first-game lead.

But, after Harbor rallied to tie it at 9, the Perrine brothers, senior

Greg and freshman Brett, combined for all seven Newport kills as the

hosts closed the game out.

Brett Perrine’s stuff block was the deciding point.

Woodbridge forged a 9-7 lead in Game 2, and, thanks to some sloppy

play by the Sailors, extended that cushion to 11-8.

But, Harbor’s veteran core of Greg Perrine, Brian Gaeta, Erik Peterson

and setter Loyd Wright, remained composed.

“They didn’t panic at all,” Glenn said. “I thought maybe they should

have been panicking a little. I was the one panicking.”

With Woodbridge up, 12-10, sophomore middle blocker Jaime Diefenbach

and Wright combined on a stuff block to cut the deficit to one. Then,

Wright’s float serve landed untouched for an ace and another combo block

by Brett Perrine and Peterson put the Sailors in control. Two hitting

errors, among several unforced miscues by the visitors, allowed the

Sailors to assume full command, then cruise to the third-game triumph.

“I thought we did a good job of cutting down on our unforced errors,”

Glenn said. “We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

While Harbor did miss 13 serves, the Warriors missed 21.

Greg Perrine paced the winners with 17 kills, while Peterson (10),

Diefenbach (10), Gaeta (nine) and Brett Perrine (nine) rounded out a

balanced hitting attack. Wright collected 44 saves.

Peterson added five stuff blocks and Brett Perrine had four, while

Greg Perrine had two jump-serve aces and an additional service winner.

Searles had 53 assists for Woodbridge.