Newport comes up aces against Foothill

The Sailors remain undefeated in Sea View League after beating the Knights in four games Tuesday night.SANTA ANA -- The Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball team is in the driver’s seat and heading toward the Sea View League championship.

The latest stop was a four-game victory over Foothill, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16, on Tuesday night in a key league match at Foothill High.

A big reason was the Sailors’ success with the serve. Newport Harbor served up a season-high 19 aces in the match.

Senior Bryana Carey tallied a season-high nine service aces to go with 13 kills.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a team that had 19 aces,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said.

Along with Carey, the Sailors were ignited by the standout play of junior Megan Toman and sophomore Megan Munce.

With outside hitter Coco Yokoyama sidelined because of a sprained neck suffered in a recent match against San Marcos, Toman stepped up with 11 kills.

Munce did a little bit of everything for the Sailors, recording 18 assists, 10 kills and four aces out of the setter position.

“Offensively, she did a great job -- she set really well,” Glenn said.

The Sailors, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section’s Division II-AA, survived brief lapses in intensity in each game to come away with their seventh consecutive league victory.

The team couldn’t overcome a prolonged slumber in the third game, preventing a sweep. Not even four consecutive aces by Carey could get the Sailors home early. The Sailors led 11-9 after a kill by Jamie Heenan before Foothill (5-2 in league) pulled away and won the game on Alyssa Valentine’s kill.

“We know teams always have a letdown after winning the first two games,” Munce said. “But I guess we let up anyway.”

Newport Harbor (17-7 overall, 7-0 in league) was a different team in the fourth game. The Sailors played with a sense of urgency that was lacking in game three. Kills by Munce and Toman and an ace by Carey helped the Sailors -- who never trailed in the game -- take a 6-0 lead.

“We got off to a good start in game four,” Glenn said. “We decided to start Bryana as our server, and it worked. Plus we eliminated unforced errors in game four.”

The Knights pulled as close as 18-15 before Toman came through with a block for a point and a kill to stymie the Knights’ comeback attempt. A pair of aces by Katie Regan set up Toman’s match-winning kill.

“We knew we had to win game four,” Munce said.

Newport Harbor had its lapses in the first game as well. The Sailors led 8-4 after a kill by Munce. Then a series of bad passes and concentration lapses by the Sailors in front of a loud Foothill crowd helped the Knights take a 13-10 lead.

Newport Harbor regained focus and took the lead back, 19-18, after a Carey kill. Munce’s key dig on a blistering hit by Foothill’s Christina Marinacci set up another kill for Carey. Toman’s kill put the game away.

In the second game, the score was tied at 15-15 and 18-18 before Munce helped provide separation with a kill and an ace. When Foothill failed to return Heenan’s serve, the Sailors escaped with a 25-20 victory.

Heenan recorded five aces and middle blocker Jessica Robson was effective at the net with four blocks.

With the victory, the Sailors are in first place in the Sea View League, two matches ahead of the competition with three league matches remaining. The toughest league match remaining could be Friday, when Newport Harbor plays at Aliso Niguel, but the Sailors appear to have the league title all but wrapped up.

“I think anything can happen, but if we play as hard as we can, we should be OK,” Munce said. 20051026ioy70skn(LA)20051026ioy706knPHOTOS BY: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Harbor’s Bryana Carey, right, hits the ball over the block of Foothill’s Jess Phillips, left, in the second game of Tuesday’s match at Foothill High School.