Tars visit Chargers

Before an important match or a big week, Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball coach Dan Glenn will show his players a movie to serve as inspiration and create more bonding.

For today’s huge match, the Sailors will watch “Remember the Titans” during the bus ride to Goleta.

Before winning the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA title against Los Alamitos, they watched “Rudy.”

Also, since the girls will arrive so early in Goleta today, they’ll visit a theater to watch “The Blind Side.”

Football just might be the proper metaphor for Newport Harbor, because the Sailors will need to be aggressive and physical in order to win.

They’ll try to do that when they play at Dos Pueblos at 7 p.m. in the CIF State Division I Southern California Regional final. The winner advances to the state title match Saturday at 7 p.m. at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center.

The Sailors last reached a state final in 1999 when they won the title.

“It’ll be fun,” Glenn said of today’s match. “We’re excited. We know they’re not going to throw anything different at us and they know what’s coming from us, so it’s going to come down to who executes. I just like how our team is playing right now.”

Glenn said the movies should also help his players enter the match with a sense of comfort. He also said they need to play their best match to advance. The Sailors (31-6) certainly must play better than the last time they faced the Chargers (32-2).

That was on Halloween, when Dos Pueblos beat Newport Harbor, 25-13, 25-23, 25-20, in the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions at the Chargers’ gym.

Dos Pueblos, the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regional, is looking for some déjà vu. Five of its nine seniors are key players and will look to lead the Chargers to the state final as they did to the CIF Southern Section Division I-A championship.

The Wopat Twins, Sam and Carly, are certainly formidable for Dos Pueblos. Sam, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, and Carly, a 6-2 middle blocker, have committed to Stanford.

Sally Yingst, a 5-11 outside hitter, as well as setters Paige Crane and Notre Dame-bound Sammie Brown are also key players for the Chargers.

Newport Harbor, the No. 3 seed in the regional, answers with its dominant duo of seniors Kirby Burnham, a 6-2 outside hitter bound for USC, and 6-1 middle blocker Katey Thompson, who’s headed to UC Santa Barbara. Junior Maddy Brown, a 6-1 outside hitter, as well as senior libero Kelly Heenan and sophomore setter Cinnamon Sary have also been instrumental in the Sailors’ memorable season that has included a Sunset League co-championship and a CIF Southern Section Division I-AA title.