Boys volleyball: Tars face Royal challenge

Barry Faulkner

SIMI VALLEY - What Simi Valley-based Royal High lacks in ocean

breezes, it makes up for in boys volleyball tradition. So, when Newport

Harbor invades tonight for a CIF Southern Section Division II

quarterfinal clash at 7, Coach Dan Glenn and his Sailors will have to

contend with more than a hostile crowd.

“We played Royal in San Diego and we lost,” Glenn said of the 15-9,

15-13 best-of-three San Diego Tournament of Champions setback March 9.

“We saw them in Santa Barbara, but we didn’t play. They are definitely a

team that plays with emotion.”

The partisan crowd figures to escalate the adrenaline factor for the

No. 4-seeded hosts (21-3), who are attempting to be the ninth Royal team

in the last 14 seasons to reach a CIF title match. Royal won section

championships in 1989, ‘90, ’92 and ’94 and last played for a title in

2001.

But Harbor senior Brian Gaeta said a hostile crowd could also motivate

the visitors, who have split their six section title-match appearances,

including a Division I crown in 1999 and a Division I runner-up showing

in 2000.

“I know we won’t have a lot of fans, but if we can win there, we feel

like we can win anywhere,” Gaeta said after the Tars’ four-game home

triumph over San Clemente in Tuesday’s second round.

San Clemente was the first of what Glenn believes will be four league

champions that stand in between the Sailors and the school’s fourth

section crown.

Royal won the Marmonte League, while Harbor (26-6), rolled to a Sea

View League title. The Sailors have won 11 straight matches outside of

tournament competition and 14 of 15 including best-of-five contests at

the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

The Sailors eliminated San Clemente, 15-8, 10-15, 15-4, 16-14, in a

two-hour affair, after trouncing first-round visitor California, 15-2,

15-2, 15-6.

Royal needed four games to top first-round foe Crescenta Valley, 15-6,

15-4, 10-15, 15-5, but dispatched host Ventura Tuesday, 15-6, 15-9, 15-7.

The Sailors are led by seniors Greg Perrine, Gaeta, Loyd Wright and

Erik Peterson.

Perrine and Gaeta are powerful outside hitting weapons, while Wright

triggers the attack at setter and Peterson sparkles opposite the setter.

In addition, 6-foot-8 sophomore Jamie Diefenbach has provided a strong

presence at middle blocker, where freshman Brett Perrine is also a

factor.

Diefenbach and Peterson had 10 kills apiece, while Greg Perrine and

Gaeta added nine in the first Royal meeting.

Glenn has praised his squad’s work ethic and ability to overcome

intermittent lapses in concentration. He believes the margin for such

lapses, however, has disappeared.

“The thing we have to work on is being focused and positive about the

next play and not worrying about the play that just happened,” he said.

One such lapse may have occurred in the Sailors’ first meeting with

Royal, when Harbor let a 13-11 second-game lead slip away.

Tonight’s winner advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round against

either top-seeded Mira Costa (25-1) or Foothill (24-8).