Newport one win away

With a CIF boys’ volleyball championship drought that has spanned for nearly a decade most would think Newport Harbor will be the hungriest team on the Cal State Dominguez Hills floor tonight.

But Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach is starving just as much for the ultimate title. The Mustangs lost in the CIF Southern Section Division I title match last year. They’ll try to redeem themselves and snap the Sailors’ 21-match win streak in the CIF Division I championship at 7:30 p.m.

Newport Harbor (31-3), the top seed, last won a CIF title in 1999 and is trying for its fourth championship.

The Sailors, the Sunset League champions, have not lost since March 15 when they fell to Corona del Mar in the Orange County Championships. Before that, they lost twice in the Best of the West tournament in Poway, once to Valencia and the other to Mira Costa.

The Mustangs (31-5), the Division I No. 2 seed, beat the Sailors twice in three games, 18-25, 25-12, 15-12. But Newport Harbor knocked off visiting Mira Costa, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, March 21.

Ever since, the Sailors have been regarded as the top team in Division I. Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn hopes it stays that way and will rely on his team’s momentum. The Sailors have been peaking because of their ability to learn, Glenn said.

“The thing that is really special about this group is that they’ve been able to improve when we have won,” he said. “It hasn’t taken a loss to learn from our mistakes ... We’ve learned how to do a better job of finishing.”

Mira Costa is led by senior Steven Mochalski, bound for USC, and Dylan Kordic, who had 18 kills in the Mustangs’ sweep against Loyola Wednesday. The Sailors counteract with seniors Kyle Caldwell (UCLA), Tucker Peleuses (USC), Mark Liebermann (UC Santa Barbara) and Max Volz.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at steve.virgen@latimes.com.