Dream Team

Barry Faulkner

Stacked one atop another, the accolades continue to mount for

Kristin McClune, rising above the competition just as the 6-foot-3

senior middle blocker did all season for the Newport Harbor High

girls volleyball team.

So it is hardly surprising that the towering Tar will add

Newport-Mesa Player of the Year to her collection, headlining the

All-Newport-Mesa District Dream Team.

Joining McClune on the seven-player squad are teammates Alyson

Jennings and Lauren Miller, as well as Costa Mesa’s Sharon Day and

the Corona del Mar threesome of Claire Allen, Jordan Smith and Britta

Neilsen.

McClune, who will play collegiately at Pepperdine, was also the

Sea View League Most Valuable Player and the CIF Southern Section

Division II Co-Player of the Year, after leading the Sailors to the

Division II-AA section championship and a berth in the Southern

California Regional title match.

She has also been named all-state by CalHi Sports and has been

named to the Student Sports All-American team.

Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn believes she is most deserving off

all this acclaim, especially after enduring a spotlight at least as

intense from opposing defenses this season.

“We were never concerned with trying to fool anyone,” Glenn said

of his team’s offensive approach. “Most of the time, the ball was

going to Kristin and everyone knew it. But she was consistently our

kill leader and she was unbelievable against great competition.”

Blessed with height, McClune accentuated her dominance with

mobility at the net. She was quick enough to consistently beat

opposing blockers to the punch on quick sets and her agility helped

Harbor confound teams with frequent use of the back slide (when the

middle hitter fakes an approach to the middle, then circles to the

outside, where she pounds a backset after jumping off one leg, like a

basketball player leaping toward a layup).

McClune, also first-team All-CIF as a junior, had 28 kills in the

SoCal regional loss to eventual state champion Liberty of Bakersfield

and was the go-to attacker throughout the postseason, which included

four straight sweeps en route to the Southern Section Division II-AA

crown.

With McClune hitting over, around and through defenders, the Tars

outscored Southern Section playoff opponents, 180-77, in four

matches.

Allen, a 6-0 senior middle blocker, was similarly dominant for the

Sea Kings, who won the Pacific Coast League crown and advanced to the

CIF Southern Section Division III-A semifinals.

The MVP of the PCL, Allen was a first-team All-CIF Division III

honoree and is receiving recruiting interest from UC Berkeley (her

first choice) and UCLA.

“She could be dominant everywhere,” CdM Coach Bill Christiansen

said. “When she first transferred from Newport Harbor last year, we

had her setting. Then, because she was such an incredibly good

hitter, we had her hitting outside. But middle blocker is her best

position. She’s also a great server and probably an A-minus digger,

which is pretty decent for someone her size.”

Allen’s net dominance helped CdM forge an 18-9 record.

Day, a 5-foot-7 senior middle blocker, led the Mustangs to the

program’s first league championship en route to Golden West League

MVP honors. A state high jump champion who was also third-team

All-CIF in soccer last year, Day helped the Mustangs flourish in

their first season in the Golden West League (12-0), after years of

being relegated to the second division in the PCL.

“She’s an amazing athlete,” first-year Mesa Coach Allison Salladin

said of Day, who led the Mustangs to their first playoff appearance

in five years. They were eliminated in the CIF Division III-A first

round and finished 13-3. “There was no disagreement among league

coaches that she was MVP. “She dominated play at the net, she had a

great serve, she was a good passer and she was an amazing leader for

us.”

Jennings, a 5-7 junior opposite, was as unsung as McClune was

heralded, but nearly as valuable to the Sailors, who finished 28-7.

“Volleyball people always notice her, because she does all the

little things,” Glenn said of his first-team All-CIF and All-Sea View

performer, who is also an accomplished beach player. “She had some

amazing digs for us, has a great jump serve and is also a very good

shot maker at the net. She was also one of our captains.”

Miller, a 5-11 outside hitter, was yet another integral part of

the Sailors’ success this season. A valuable hitting weapon -- she

was often second to McClune in kills -- Glenn said Miller was not

lacking in other skills.

“She’s a pretty good athlete and she has a very good sense for the

game,” Glenn said. “And she’s very competitive.”

Glenn said serving was another of Miller’s strengths.

Smith, a 5-11 sophomore outside hitter, was as valuable in the

back row as the front row, Christiansen said.

“She made some fantastic digs against some big hitters,”

Christiansen said. “People are still talking about some of her digs

this year against Newport Harbor (a five-game victory for the Sailors

in the regular-season finale for both teams). She’s just an

all-around great player, who could be one of the best in the state

next year and one of the best in the nation.”

Smith was a first-team All-PCL performer.

Neilsen, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, also displayed

all-around skills for the Sea Kings.

“She is just an excellent server, a great passer and an excellent

outside hitter,” Christiansen said. “And she has super-intense

ambition so she’s just going to get better and better.”

Neilsen was second-team All-PCL.