Sailors slip against Oilers

HUNTINGTON BEACH ? A day after dispatching Aliso Niguel in three easy sets, the Newport Harbor High boys’ volleyball team ran into a team playing at a whole different level.

Huntington Beach, ranked No. 10 in CIF Southern Section Division I, played with more intensity in its home gymnasium and took down second-ranked Newport Harbor, 25-19, 25-16, 25-27, 25-17, Wednesday night in a nonleague match between division rivals.

The Sailors swept the Oilers in the first round of the Division I playoffs last year after losing to them during the regular season in five games. Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn can only hope a similar scenario plays itself out this season, but his team’s performance on Wednesday was lackluster enough to cause him great concern.

“We’re trying to prepare ourselves for the CIF playoffs,” said Glenn, whose team fell to 16-6 and will most likely drop in next week’s rankings. “This is a big step backward.”

Huntington Beach (9-2) looked like a well-oiled machine in winning the first two games rather handily.

The Oilers took an 18-11 lead in game one after a kill by Trey Valbuena (game-high 15 kills) and a block by Rory Jones. Huntington Beach led, 22-16, when an ace by Newport Harbor senior Jonsen Carmack and a block by senior Ted Slater cut the lead to four. But the Oilers closed the game with kills by Tony Ciarelli and Alex Tonjes.

The Oilers held a slim lead early before pulling away midway through the second game. The Sailors couldn’t get their serves in consistently, their passing was off and their hitting was often long or wide.

The Sailors also didn’t dig particularly well against a Huntington Beach team that was registering kills from several different spots on the court. Tonjes and Jones also finished in double figures in kills for the Oilers.

“We’ve been struggling on defense, but tonight, our defense and passing was very good,” Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli said. “And we’ve got five guys who can take good swings at the ball, so teams can’t concentrate on stopping Trey.”

The Sailors were able to avoid a sweep by coming from behind to take game three. Junior Weston Dunlap (team-high 13 kills) led the charge with five kills and three blocks in game three. Dunlap’s kill tied the game, 15-15, and his block gave the Sailors a 25-24 lead. Dunlap’s left-handed tip gave the Sailors a 26-25 lead, then Newport Harbor took the game when Huntington Beach served into the net.

“We were lucky to win the third game,” Glenn said.

The Sailors kept game four tied as late as 12-12 before the Oilers took the lead and never looked back. Late kills by senior Brett Auer and Caldwell showed some resistance. However, the Oilers’ Valbuena delivered a kill before Caldwell hit long off a backset by Slater and Huntington Beach emerged victorious.

“Hopefully this is a starting point for us to kick it up as we head into the CIF playoffs,” Ciarelli said.

For the Sailors, during a season of mostly positives, it was a night of negatives.

“There were no positives tonight,” Glenn said. “We didn’t play with emotion or intensity.”

Newport Harbor will try to get back on track Friday when it opens play in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.dpt-volley20.IMGGraphicInfo3E1Q4R4N200604203E1Q4R4NNo Captiondpt.20-vb-nh-hb-2-CPhotoInfo1L1Q4QS820060420iy02wencMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Harbor’s Weston Dunlap, right, prepares to swing away against Huntington Beach’s Troy Bailey in Wednesday’s match.dpt.20-vb-nh-hb-1-CPhotoInfo1L1Q4QUC20060420iy02vuncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Harbor’s Kyle Caldwell, left, puts up a block against Huntington Beach’s Rory Jones, right, during Wednesday’ match.