Sailors remain perfect in league

HUNTINGTON BEACH — One coach said he had moved on since experiencing an overwhelming night last Saturday off the court.

The other coach said his players were still thinking about an emotional match last Friday.

Emotions tend to run high in boys’ volleyball. Newport Harbor High Coach Dan Glenn saw his players use their emotions to power the Sailors to a 25-13, 25-23, 25-22 sweep at Edison Tuesday.

Coach Brian Boone said he did not see much of a fight out of his Chargers, who had lost a five-set match to Huntington Beach on the same court five days ago.

Glenn was his usual self, staying upbeat. He has the Sailors at 3-0 in Sunset League play. They are alone in first place in league, but the season is not close to being over.

Glenn would know. The other night, friends, colleagues and former players celebrated Glenn’s 50 seasons of coaching the boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs at Newport Harbor.

“It was a really, really great event and I’m just overwhelmed by the whole thing,” Glenn said, “but I haven’t lost focus.”

The party is over. It was time for Glenn to get the Sailors back into the swing of contending for a league title.

The player, whose mom threw Glenn’s party, helped Newport Harbor stay undefeated in league. Senior outside hitter Cody Caldwell recorded a handful of his 16 kills in the opening set.

The Sailors got off to a 5-0 start and never looked back in Game 1. Kevin Rakestraw created problems for Edison with his height at 6-foot-9, contributing nine kills and four blocks.

The sophomore middle blocker stuffed back-to-back shots, taking Edison out of the set early. Boone said his players’ minds were elsewhere.

“That emotional game we had Friday night was tough to follow up with [Tuesday night’s] against another tough team,” Boone said. “It’s kind of one of those things, if you’re not mentally focused enough to compete against another good team right away, you’re not going to be able to keep the ball in play.”

The Chargers (8-12, 1-2 in league) tried to stretch the match, their best chance coming in the second set.

Edison took its first lead and hung with Newport Harbor (12-6), ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, throughout Game 2. The teams were even 14 times. Josh Gane, who had 11 kills, helped the Chargers stay close.

But Rusty Sary, who finished with seven kills, lifted Newport Harbor past the Chargers. He pounded a couple of kills late as the Sailors went up, 2-0, in sets.

Newport Harbor was on its way to sweeping its third straight league opponent.

Four sweeps in a row will be tough to accomplish.

The Sailors play host to Huntington Beach Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Oilers dropped their first league contest, losing to Fountain Valley in five sets on Tuesday.

Glenn said Huntington Beach, which rejoined the Sunset League this season after spending time in the Sea View League, is dangerous.

“They’re young, but they’re every talented,” Glenn said of the Oilers, who are 2-1 in league. “They put up a big block and play with a lot of emotion.”