Newport Harbor’s Ella Olson finishes with flair versus rival CdM
The longer the match went on, the freer Ella Olson swung.
Starting the third set, the Newport Harbor sophomore outside hitter elevated her play even further. She tossed the ball into the air and struck a service ace that landed on the back line.
Two points later, another serve crawled over the net for a point. Five points into the set, Olson had churned out four aces, a harbinger of things to come as far as her impact.
Olson provided eight of her team-leading 16 kills for the host Sailors in the third set, as Newport Harbor went on to sweep Corona del Mar 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 on Tuesday in the first meeting of the Battle of the Bay girls’ volleyball series.
“We were up 2-0 [on sets],” said Olson, who had seven of her eight kills in the final set after CdM had rallied to even the score at 7-7. “We had nothing to lose, so why not go out with a bang.”
The student section was into it. At one point, a group of boys spilled out onto the floor in front of the bleachers, sitting in a straight-line formation and acting as if they were rowing a boat in appreciation of the Sailors’ work.
“I think a Newport Harbor volleyball crowd’s a pretty intelligent one,” Newport Harbor coach Andrew Mabry said. “I think our team plays really good volleyball when we’re at our best, and I think the crowd kind of fed off that tonight, and we fed off that.”
Mabry credited the ball distribution for unlocking Olson, as the Sailors got their middle blockers involved early.
“Ella Olson is the real deal,” Mabry said. “She’s really, really good. It’s a team game to allow people to be successful in the areas that they can be successful, but Ella does a lot of little things really well. Her defense tonight was great, her serve receive was great, she had a couple service runs, she got some blocks, and the offense is kind of always there.”
Samantha Fleischli had six kills and two block assists, Sadie Henderson added four kills and a pair of block assists, and Morgan Scheumann chipped in with three kills and two block assists. Campbell Kelly also had three kills, including the match-clinching tip for Newport Harbor (10-3, 3-1 in the Sunset League).
Freshman pin hitter Piper Coady finished with 11 kills for Newport Harbor. Talea Berry contributed 29 assists and three aces, and libero Ava Christiano also had three aces.
“I think serve receive is a big part of that [success], and I think we did good today with that,” Berry said. “It falls into offense.”
Middle blocker Matisse Robertson provided four kills and three block assists for CdM (8-11, 1-2). Outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec had four kills and two block assists. Setter Anna Wagner had eight assists and a team-best four aces. Liberos Riley Card and Sam Mason combined for five additional aces.
The crosstown rivals will meet again at CdM on Oct. 4.
Corona del Mar expects to get reinforcements soon when outside hitter Casi Doll and libero Makenna Smith, who transferred from Tarbut V’Torah and Mater Dei, respectively, become eligible. The mandatory sit-out period will be completed on Sept. 14.
“It was cool,” CdM coach Aubrey Caires said of her initial experience in the Battle of the Bay. “I feel like the girls took the challenge on, and I don’t think that they were overly nervous. I don’t think that contributed to their playing. I think they went out there and did what they could. For me, it was really cool to see them thrive in that environment. It feels like a high-level college game, so it was fun.”
Additional results from Tuesday:
Costa Mesa 3, Westminster 1: Aubrey Spallone had 19 kills and three aces to lead the Mustangs to a 25-10, 27-29, 25-23, 25-23 win on Tuesday in a Golden West League match at home.
Isabel Ortega-Davidson contributed 24 assists, eight kills and two aces for Costa Mesa (10-6, 3-1). Gracie Glass had eight kills, and Lucca Miller added seven kills. Brooke Mehanna dished out 23 assists.
Pacifica Christian Orange County 3, Tarbut V’Torah 0: Chara Wondercheck had 15 kills, seven digs and two blocks, as the visiting Tritons swept the Lions 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 in a San Joaquin League match on Tuesday.
Addie Roberson handed out 28 assists for Pacifica Christian (10-6, 2-0). Emma Hartman provided five aces and two blocks.
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