Sailors struggle in four

Imagine if Dan Glenn had a lineup he could go to that would almost

surely guarantee a needed point or sideout for Newport Harbor High’s

boys volleyball team.

After the Sailors won the final three games to defeat visiting

Irvine Tuesday night, the 17-year Tar coach glanced over the stat

sheet with a puzzled stare.

“I’ve used 18 different lineups this season,” Glenn told Irvine

Coach Mark Mednick after the two shook hands following Newport’s

11-15, 15-3, 15-11, 15-2 Sea View League triumph. “I’m trying to get

the kids to be comfortable on the court.”

The Tars (15-11, 6-1 in league) passed Tuesday’s endurance test,

gaining their focus against the Vaqueros (12-13, 1-6) after a 5-0 Sailor lead evaporated in the first game and the visitors prevailed.

“We just made too many mental mistakes,” Glenn said of Newport’s

struggle throughout Game 1. “We missed two serves and Irvine is a

good team that capitalized. Their middle blocker [Stephen Jeltema]

was real good. We couldn’t stop him all night. We’ve never been able

to stop him in three years.”

Jeltema, a three-year varsity player, sent home a team-high 15

kills, six in Game 1.

To counter Jeltema, senior middle blocker Paul Toman and junior

Jamie Diefenbach, who stands at 6-foot-8, teamed up often alongside

one another, making it difficult as the match wore on for Irvine to

find openings down the middle as were common in the first game.

“I told Paul to be quick in the middle and he executed,” Glenn

said.

Toman and Diefenbach each had three stuff blocks for Newport.

Diefenbach, who made his return to Newport’s lineup April 22 after

missing the first part of the season with a torn ACL, had a

match-high 20 kills while Toman had five.

Senior Nick Kelly gained the praise of Glenn for his litany of

threes in several categories to match his jersey No. 3. Kelly slammed

three kills to go with three digs and three service aces. His dig

gave junior outside hitter Morgan Govaars the chance to set senior

outside hitter Nick Glassic for a sideout in Game 3 with Newport

leading, 8-5.

The Sailors and Vaqueros then battled for 11 consecutive sideouts,

but a Diefenbach kill and a Kelly ace gave Newport an 11-5 lead,

prompting an Irvine timeout to regroup.

The Vaqueros came out of the timeout charged, receiving a kill

from Jeltema and, after two Newport hitting errors, trailed only

11-7. Irvine cut the lead to 13-11 before Kelly’s stuff block and a

Diefenbach tip gave service back to Newport. An Irvine hitting error

ended the third game.

“Kelly is our captain, a three-year varsity player and is out

there the whole time, now,” Glenn said. “He talks and provides that

senior leadership. He can play the back row or front row.”

Glassic came off the bench to provide three of his 12 kills in the

final game, when Newport jumped to a 10-0 lead and allowed only two

points. Diefenbach led the Sailors with four kills in the onslaught

while senior outside hitter Michael Toole leaped high to slam two

kills from the outside and had a stuff block.

Mednick said the last thing his team needed was to get into a four

or five-game match with Newport.

“We couldn’t sustain the level we were at in the third game,”

Mednick said. “We were playing at an ‘A’ level during the first game.

“They started to block [Chad Robbins] better and had more touches

in the middle. They played at an increased level and, I guess, we

played at an increased level, too. But it is tough to score points

against a defense as good as Newport’s.”

Glenn acknowledged his defense was more active as the match wore

on. Senior outside hitters Michael McDonald and Ryan Newell each had

three digs along with junior setter Adam Schlesinger. Schlesinger

collected 52 assists and clinched the winning point in the fourth

game when his dig crossed over the net and fell to the floor with no

return.

Newport survived, though Glenn knows improvement must be made if

his team wants to repeat as league champion.

“[Tuesday’s] effort will not get it done,” he said.