Tars push past Poly
Barry Faulkner
So vast is the CIF Southern Section, postseason competition can
sometimes bring together schools and teams that are, seemingly,
worlds apart.
Such was the case Friday night, when Long Beach Poly visited
Newport Harbor for a CIF Division I first-round boys volleyball
match. But the gap was revealed more in styles than on the
scoreboard, even though Newport Harbor prevailed, 15-5, 15-9, 15-9,
to advance to Tuesday’s second round at No. 2-seeded San Clemente.
“Their experience really showed,” Poly Coach Steve LaRusch said of
the Sailors (20-11), who led throughout, but never really dominated.
“I wish we would have taken one game off of them. It was frustrating
for us to be playing so well and not be able to get a point. Their
defense was incredible. We’re guts and ghetto and, on their side of
the net, it’s a choreograph, like a dance. They’re very pretty to
watch, unfortunately.”
There was something less aesthetic about the Jackrabbits (19-11),
whose leading hitter was 5-foot-8 senior Sam Eilu and whose middle
blocker, stout senior Zephyr McKenzie, bore a more striking
resemblance to a middle linebacker.
“They have some good athletes who haven’t played a lot of
volleyball,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “They’re
unorthodox.”
Despite some sloppy play by the hosts, which allowed Poly to
extend the games 24, 26 and 30 minutes, Glenn had few qualms
afterward.
“This was a good win,” he said. “I thought we did a good job of
playing within our game. We had to battle for points, which is
something that is going to help us on Tuesday.”
The Sailors offered plenty of help to the visitors in the opening
game, committing five service errors and making a handful of other
miscues that prompted Glenn to call a pair of timeouts.
Newport sailed to leads of 8-0 and 11-1 in the second game, but
Poly, the Moore League’s third-place representative, closed to within
12-8, before the Tars finished them off.
Up just 5-4 in the third game, the Sailors, over a span that
included 13 sideouts, scored nine straight points to force match
point. It took nine match points, however, for Newport Harbor to
close the deal. After exhausting all their substitutions, the Sailors
got the clinching point on a stuff block by 6-0 senior Ryan Newell, a
development Glenn later called “beautiful.”
Jamie Diefenbach, a 6-8 junior middle, led a balanced Sailor
attack with 13 kills. Senior outside hitter Michael McDonald (10),
senior outside hitter Michael Toole (eight), senior middle Paul Toman
(eight), senior Nick Glassic (six) and junior setter Adam Schlesinger
(six) also capitalized on the visitors’ lack of height. Schlesinger
posted 41 assists, while Glassic led the winners with three stuff
blocks.
Junior Morgan Govaars had two aces and two service winners.
Eilu, whose jumping ability often allowed him to look down on
taller blockers, pounded 15 kills, while senior setter Tyler
Rasmussen added 25 assits and four kills. McKenzie had four of his
team’s 10 stuff blocks.
Thanks to a first-round bye, San Clemente (26-1), ranked No. 1 in
Orange County, was on hand to watch the Sailors Friday. The Tritons
are looking to avenge two playoff losses to Newport Harbor in the
last three seasons, including a second-round Division II setback last
spring.
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