DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Alesha Young was out of character for sure.

A dork, sporting a collared shirt, high socks, parting her hair to the side and wearing glasses, just a few of the necessities she said she needed to pull off the stereotypical nerd. The glasses were her old prescription ones.

“But I’m not really geeky,” she said.

A day after helping the Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball team stun defending CIF State Division I champ Los Alamitos on the road, Young had a valid reason to change her identity. It was Halloween night, and along with her friend and teammate Jamie Heenan, dressed as a bedhead, she went out.

No one made the mistake and took these two for being timid or lazy.

As fiery as Heenan is on the court, Young is ultra competitive. How can you explain how the shortest player at Newport Harbor channels her limited size and the constant abuse she said Coach Dan Glenn gave her the previous three years into positive energy?

Young claims she’s 5-foot-7, break out the measuring stick and take an inch or two off. No wonder Young said Glenn told her she wouldn’t amount to anything past a 16-and-under volleyball player, a slap in the face to any club player.

“He inspired me,” Young said, and now Glenn feels the same way about his senior.

Newport Harbor is reaping the benefits as it won a share of the Sunset League title with Los Alamitos for the second straight year. The Sailors (23-3, 9-1 in league), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division I-AA, can thank their little helper, their setter.

Against the second-ranked Griffins (27-5, 9-1) Tuesday, Young played the way she describes best.

“I play bigger than I really am,” she said after finishing with 30 assists, 10 digs, six kills and four blocks, impressive numbers for anyone.

But when you wear No. 1, you’re asking for trouble. It doesn’t help when there are girls across the net towering over Young by as many as six inches, ready to leave their imprint on her. Los Alamitos tried. The face, shoulder, wherever, Young’s seen the ball hammered her way and all she can do is fight back. Who wants to be all bruised up? Not Young.

She learned from her older brother, Taylor, a 2005 Newport Harbor graduate, to show resolve. The sister remembers the three-sport star having it all, Newport-Mesa Dream Team honors in football and basketball, more importantly a chance to play for a section championship with the football team in 2004.

Achieving a section title is all Young thinks about. So do her two good friends and teammates, Heenan and Megan Munce, two hitters that have been on varsity all four years with Young. All three will play college volleyball, Young at Loyola Marymount, Munce at Texas Christian University and Heenan said she hopes to hear from UC Riverside soon.

“We have had good teams until basically we got here,” said Young, referring to the Sailors last reaching the state tournament in 2003, when Young, Heenan and Munce were eighth-graders. “We never thought it would happen, our senior year. I can remember my freshman year at the banquet after we made it to the semifinals and how close we were to getting to a CIF title. Our goal is to get to state. We have four matches. This is the year we’ve been waiting for. Anything is possible with hard work.”

The way former coaches like basketball coach Larry Hirst depicted Young’s brother as “blue-collar” and someone who “did all the dirty work” also fits with Young. Ask Glenn. The player pushing Young since freshman year no longer can say she’s not tall enough to play at a high level.

“All season, she has been playing the best volleyball,” said Glenn in his 22nd year at Newport Harbor. “She just loves to be challenged. That’s part of her competitive character.”

There’s nothing stiff about that.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.