Oilers take down Newport Harbor in key matchup

The Huntington Beach High boys’ volleyball team has been known for its winning ways, but it was one victory Friday that put the Oilers back in a familiar place.

Huntington went to Newport Harbor for a critical Sunset League showdown Friday, and its 3-1 victory over the Sailors not only returned the Oilers to the league’s top spot, but also back atop the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings.

The defending league and Division 1 champions scored a 25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21 win that moved the Oilers, ranked fourth going into the big match, into a first-place tie with the Sailors who they also replaced at No. 1 in Division 1.

Newport Harbor, which played without starting middle blocker Spencer Lawrence, fell to No. 4 in the ranking this week.

After winning the first set, Huntington trailed 20-17 in the second set but used a 6-0 run highlighted by big defensive plays at the net and in the back court, and the serving of senior middle blocker Davey Kim, to take a 23-20 lead. The Oilers went on to a 25-22 win for a 2-0 lead.

Senior middle blocker Shane Holdaway had 12 kills (13 attempts) and four blocks (.924 hitting percentage), senior outside hitter Eric Beatty 14 kills (19 attempts, .684 hitting percentage), and senior outside hitter Sean Morrissey 12 kills for the Oilers.

Newport Harbor’s 3-1 win at Huntington had ended the Oilers’ national-record winning streak at 121 matches in the team’s first league meeting April 5. The Oilers were without Kim for that match.

“It was a great volleyball environment,” Huntington Coach Craig Pazanti said of the match. “There were a lot of fans for both teams, which makes it a fun match to be a part of. Any time you get two of the best teams is CIF playing good volleyball in front of that type of a crowd, it is good for the sport.

“I’m just super proud of the team, they came out focused and really intent on playing a great match.”

Huntington rode the momentum from that win against Edison Tuesday and defeated the host Chargers for the second time with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 league sweep. Beatty and Kim had 12 and eight kills, respectively.

Huntington improved to 7-1 in league and 23-1 overall. Newport Harbor stayed tied for first by sweeping Los Alamitos Tuesday.

“Coming off a big win Friday, sometimes you can have a letdown,” Pazanti said. “I’m happy we stayed focused and played with intent. It’s always good to get wins on the road in the Sunset League. Now, time to refocus and get ready for Los Al on Thursday.”

Outside hitters Tyler Power and Trent Williams each had six kills and middle blockers Garrett White and Damian Coolidge had five kills apiece for Edison which fell to 4-4 in league and 13-11 overall.

“We were close in a couple of games, but didn’t have enough to finish,” Edison Coach Matt Skolnik said. “Huntington Beach is a very good team and they closed out the games better than we did tonight.”

Last Friday, Edison swept Marina, 25-13, 25-11, 25-23. White had team-high seven kills and setter Jacob Gilliam 37 assists.

Huntington will host Los Alamitos in a 5:45 p.m. league match Thursday. In Sunset matches at 5:45 p.m. Friday, Fountain Valley entertains Edison and Marina visits Newport Harbor.

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Basketball

The 51st annual Orange County North-South 12th Grade All-Star Basketball Games were played Saturday at Cypress College.

In the girls’ game, Jackie Bento of Edison scored six points with four rebounds and two assists and Treasure Robinson four points with two rebounds for the South in its 88-73 loss to the North. In the boys’ game, Zamir Kelly of Ocean View scored 17 points with three rebounds and two assists for the South which outscored the North, 119-114, in a game decided in overtime.

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Boys’ Golf

Ocean View

Ocean View won by forfeit Tuesday against Westminster in the Orange League. The Seahawks still played the round at Meadowlark Golf Course in Huntington Beach (par 35) and shot a 263 team score, led by Tyler Preull who shot a 46.

The forfeit win moved Ocean View to 13-1 in league and assured the Seahawks of at least a tie for first place.

Ocean View took on both Santa Ana Valley and Orange April 21 in league action at Riverview Golf Course in Santa Ana. The Seahawks defeated the Falcons, 248-257, and the Panthers, 248-276. Senior Grant Gochman led the Seahawks with a 47 on the par 34 course.

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Boys’ Tennis

Ocean View defeated Segerstrom for the first time in the history of its program when the teams met Tuesday. The Golden West League match ended in a 9-9 tie in sets but the Seahawks took the win with an 81-76 edge in games won.

For the Seahawks, who improved to 10-4 overall and moved into a tie for second place (6-3 record) in the league standings, singles players Khang Vo and Tony Phan each won two sets and Nathan Bryan won a set and dropped a very close tiebreaker in another. The doubles team of Spencer Hagaman/Kyle Tsai gave a strong performance and won each of their three sets. Connor LuVisi/Ivan Alcazar won one set, and Zach Medina/Deven DeLeon won nine games in their three sets.

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CIF Weekly Rankings (released Monday)

Boys’ Volleyball: Huntington Beach (No. 1, Division 1).