Newport rallies for victory

The Newport Harbor High girls volleyball team dropped the first game,

but rallied back to win, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 over host Scripps

Ranch in the first round of the CIF State Division II championships

Tuesday in San Diego.

The Sailors (26-6) will play at Mater Dei, which swept Mt.

Whitney, Saturday at 7 p.m. in the regional semifinals.

Senior Alyson Jennings recorded a team-high 14 kills to help lead

the Sailors’ comeback, while Emily Turner (nine kills), Lauren Miller

(seven), Kiley Hall (five) and Taryn Tarnutzer (three) also

contributed.

Kellie King produced 25 assists and Jennings had 19. Miller’s

serving was also important, as she tallied seven aces.

Scripps Ranch ended its season at 27-5.

“We were playing a team that was coming off winning a CIF [San

Diego Section] crown,” Glenn said. “I thought we hung in there and

weathered the storm.”

Sea Kings fall in San Diego

* VOLLEYBALL: The Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team saw

its season end as host University High of San Diego earned a 21-25,

25-15, 25-21, 25-19 victory in the first round of the CIF State

Division III championships Tuesday. University’s Buring Rud finished

with 10 kills.

The Sea Kings, Pacific Coast League runners-up, finish 21-10 and

placed second to Bishop Montgomery in CIF Southern Section Division

III-A.

OCC sweeps in first round

* VOLLEYBALL: Sophomore opposite Christine Woller led all players

with 16 kills to lead the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball

team to a 30-24, 30-12, 30-26 win over visiting Long Beach Tuesday in

the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs.

Sophomore libero Melissa Sherman tallied a team-leading 13 digs

while Woller amassed 11 digs and two aces to go with 11 kills by

Donka Drozd. Brenda Bailey had eight kills and three blocks while

sophomore setter Amber McCarthy dished out 42 assists for Coast

(18-2), ranked No. 2 in the state.

Freshman Chontel Palomino slammed seven kills in place of Marti

Merriott, who injured her right ankle in the regular season finale

last week against Cypress.

Coast hosts either Victor Valley or Ventura in the second round at

7 p.m. Saturday.

Trojans’ April Ross honored

* VOLLEYBALL: Newport Harbor High product April Ross, a senior

outside hitter at USC, has been named Pac-10 Conference Player of the

Year in women’s volleyball.

Ross, a four-time all-conference honoree, is the first USC player

to earn the conference’s top individual honor. She has led the Women

of Troy, the defending national champions, to a 27-0 record, the No.

1 national ranking and a 39-match winning streak.

Heading into the final two regular-season matches, Ross had 1,478

career kills to rank seventh in USC history. Her 152 service aces are

second in school annals.

Cal Poly drops Vanguard

* BASKETBALL: Cal Poly Pomona earned a 68-50 nonconference men’s

basketball win Tuesday over host Vanguard University. The 2003 NCAA

Division II West region champion Broncos improved to 2-1. The Lions

fell to 3-3.

Cal Poly’s Jeff Bonds and VU’s Brian Kim shared scoring honors

with 15 points each. Horace Wormely added nine points and four

assists for the Lions, and Tim Burnette and Leon Rosborough each

grabbed six boards for Vanguard, which will host Mary Notre Dame at

7:30 p.m. Friday.