Chargers too tough

Rick Devereux

Sometimes a team can be so on top of its game it will make even the

worthiest of adversaries look subpar. Such was the case as the

Newport Harbor High girls volleyball team was swept, 25-19, 25-17,

25-21, by No. 3 seed Edison Tuesday night in the semifinals of the

CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.

“Edison was the better team tonight,” Coach Dan Glenn said. “We

looked confused because they were so good. I don’t think it was a

matter of us playing poorly, but more of Edison playing great.”

The Chargers (22-6) relied heavily on middle blocker Colleen

Burke. Burke finished with a match-high 15 kills, including seven in

the third game.

“You know we’re going to set Colleen,” Edison Coach Trent Jackson

said. “But knowing we’re setting her and stopping her are two

different things.”

Newport Harbor (15-13), which upset No. 2-seeded El Dorado in the

quarterfinals, could not stop much of anything the Chargers

attempted. When the defense would shift to try to anticipate a set to

Burke, setter Kelly Keating would assist outside hitters Ashley

Collier or Kelly Hyder.

“They’ve got a very good senior setter and senior middle blocker,”

Glenn said. “That whole team was in a rhythm from the start.”

Thanks to early runs when Hyder and Burke were serving, Edison

opened up a 12-5 lead in Game 1, which was too wide of a margin for

Newport to overcome. Edison won the first game, 25-19.

The Chargers again opened up a 9-3 lead in Game 2, but the Tars

battled back to close the gap to 13-10 thanks to timely hitting by

Kiley Hall. Hyder served four consecutive points for Edison to surge

the Chargers ahead, 16-10. The Chargers prevailed in the second game,

25-17.

The third game looked like it would be another easy victory for

the Chargers, as Edison took a 9-1 lead. Hall, who finished with a

team-high 12 kills, would not give up without a fight, however.

The senior outside hitter blasted a cross-court spike that pulled

Newport within three points at 9-6. The massive kill awoke the

Newport fans and the rest of the Sailor team as the crowd grew more

and more rowdy and the Harbor passing became more precise.

Senior Stephanie Trinen served five consecutive points to give

Newport a 15-11 advantage, the first Sailor lead since 4-1 in the

first game.

Edison fought back and it looked as if the match might turn into

the classic battle the two schools played in last year’s semifinals,

which Newport Harbor won in five games.

A seesaw of scoring resulted in five ties and four lead changes

until Edison took control at 22-21. Edison sophomore opposite hitter

Kari Pestolesi registered the final three kills for the 25-21 Charger

victory.

“We were more prepared for this game than the one last year,”

Jackson said. “You cant relax, especially when you are playing such a

team like Newport that has a great team year in and year out.”