Sailors savor victory spoils

Barry Faulkner

In a match with all the variables of the CIF Southern Section

playoffs, but none of the consequences, visiting Newport Harbor High

seized the rewards that go to the annual winner of the boys

volleyball Battle of the Bay.

The Sailors, who claimed a share of the Sea View League title with

wins this week over Woodbridge and Foothill, closed out their

postseason rehearsal with a 9-15, 15-8, 15-11, 15-9 triumph in the

only meeting between the crosstown rivals this spring.

“I love playing those guys and it’s pretty exciting when we only

meet once and it’s at the end of the year,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan

Glenn said. “This has been a great week for us.”

It could be far less memorable for the Sea Kings, champions of the

Pacific Coast League who, once again, were bitten by the injury bug.

Having overburdened the trainer all season with various ailments, CdM

saw 6-foot-7 Stanford-bound middle blocker Eric Jones limp to the

bench twice, the second time -- late in the first game -- never to

return. Jones, who missed the first three weeks of the season with

the same right ankle injury, left a huge void in the middle that 6-8

Sailor junior Jamie Diefenbach was more than happy to exploit.

Diefenbach, who missed the first several weeks of the season while

recovering from reconstructive ACL surgery, collected all but two of

his match-high 24 kills with Jones on the bench. Diefenbach also had

a match-high six stuff blocks.

“It obviously hurt them to lose the big guy,” Glenn said of Jones.

“There is 20 kills they don’t get. I feel bad for him, especially

because he’s a senior. I hope he is able to play in the playoffs.”

Both teams will continue in the playoffs, for which pairings will

be announced Monday.

Newport Harbor (19-11 and on an upswing) will compete as a

longshot in Division I. The Sailors are not ranked in the top 10.

CdM (17-11, including a 10-0 league record) came into this week

ranked No. 2 in CIF Division II and is expected to make another

extended run. The Sea Kings saw their streak of five straight CIF

title-match appearances ended in the Division IV semifinals last

spring.

Jones’ availability, as well as the status of senior Bart Welch,

whose sprained ankle limited him to one serve Friday, could hinder

Coach Steve Conti’s postseason plans.

Things went as planned for CdM in the first game against the Tars,

as they scored the first four points, turned a 6-5 deficit into a

14-6 lead, then closed it out after a brief Sailor surge.

“I thought we played with so much emotion in the first game, we

expended a lot of energy,” Conti said. “When you play with a lot of

emotion and things don’t go well, sometimes you hit the bottom of the

lake. Before the match, I talked about us playing with a balance of

emotion and composure. But all the credit goes to Newport.”

Conti said the Sailors’ defense determination wore down the Sea

Kings.

“[The Sailors] dig a ton of balls and they play smart,” Conti

said. “They’re very smart about not trying to do too much.”

The visitors led the entire final three games, though CdM cut into

a 14-4 second-game lead, before succumbing.

The Sailors supplemented Diefenbach’s prowess in the middle with

senior outside hitters Michael Toole (15 kills), Michael McDonald

(nine) and Nick Glassic (eight) as well as senior middle Paul Toman.

Toman added five stuff blocks to his seven kills.

Newport junior setter Adam Schlesinger amassed 58 assists.

CdM had double-figure kill outputs from sophomore Kevin Welch (20)

senior Miles Yourman (17), sophomore Tom Welch (14) and senior

Brandon Sherick-Odom (10) to help senior setter Greg Gabriel post a

match-high 63 assists.