Newport sniffs upset fever

NEWPORT BEACH — College basketball hardly has a monopoly on March upsets. Newport Harbor High proved that Friday night.

The Sailors (11-3), ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, delivered the madness against No. 1 Mira Costa (9-2), beating the Mustangs 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15.

The atmosphere in the Sailors’ gym was only second to a Battle of the Bay match; the home bleachers were filled to capacity.

It’s still early in the season — Sunset League play hasn’t even started yet — but Friday night’s win was still an important one, according to Newport Harbor coach Dan Glenn.

“It matters,” Glenn said. “That’s the No. 1 team in our division in CIF. It matters. I don’t want to downplay this at all. It’s a great win for us. You don’t get an opportunity to play that quality of an opponent that often, and it’s nice to win.”

This was not the same team the Mustangs defeated in three games in the fifth-place match of the Best of West Tournament, said Mira Costa coach Sean Shoptaw.

“They were a little tired when we saw them in San Diego,” Shoptaw said. “They’re a good team I knew they’d come out and play us very tough tonight. A lot of talent on that team. I wasn’t surprised at all.”

A few days’ rest and a change in the lineup made the Sailors significantly more potent on both sides of the net.

Glenn moved senior Tucker Peleuses to the right side and moved junior outside hitter JB Green to the front row. Usually Peleuses plays opposite Caldwell, which was the lineup Glenn used last year.

Junior setter Darren Leggett was setting the first two games, with Caldwell playing opposite. Leggett finished with 10 assists. Caldwell moved back into the setter position for the last three games.

“I think in that lineup, we pass a little better,” Glenn said.

Peleuses was the beneficiary of the earlier lineup, which Glenn started implementing during Tuesday’s practice. Peleuses had eight kills in the first game hitting outside, and finished with 20 kills and two blocks.

“He had a lot of kills,” Glenn said. “I think he did like that. We’re able to get him the ball in that lineup. We’re still working on some things, though. We’re a lot more physical outside when Tucker’s outside.”

However, more than anything, Glenn said the Sailors improved on defense.

“We haven’t dug very many balls this year, so it was good for us to start digging some balls,” Glenn said. Caldwell led with eight digs, and senior libero Andrew Kabab had six. Green added four.

Mira Costa kept it close through all but the last game. The Mustangs tied the Sailors at 22 in Game One, then took the lead after Dylan Kordic and Steven Mochalski blocked a kill attempt by Peleuses.

Peleuses answered to tie it, 23-23, and senior outside hitter Mark Leibermann (eight kills, two aces) hit a kill down the middle gap to make it 24-25. The Sailors won when Kordic’s attempt went straight into the net.

The Mustangs tied the Sailors 11 times in Game Three, and had worked their way to 17-17 when Kordic had a service error. The Sailors took a 18-16 lead after Caldwell, who had 17 kills, 30 assists, one ace, and four blocks, denied libero Will Thomas in a one-on-one meeting at the net. Tied at 23-23 again, Peleuses and Max Volz (nine kills, five blocks) kept a fifth game at bay when they blocked a shot at the right side. Volz shut out Mitchel Johnson with a block down the middle to end the third game.

Shoptaw tried to staunch the momentum. He called five of the six timeouts during the match, almost all after plays that gave Harbor momentum. He received a yellow card for protesting a lifting call that put the Sailors ahead, 16-6, in the fourth game. The 10-point difference was Harbor’s biggest of the match.

Assistants from Laguna Beach, which Newport Harbor plays next week, and Corona del Mar, which Harbor plays May 2, witnessed the Sailors’ strongest performance of the season.

“You’ve got to win in your own gym against these good teams and hopefully that helps us later on and we continue to improve,” Glenn said.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.