Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball throws block party at Huntington Beach

The Huntington Beach High boys’ volleyball team got its first look at top-ranked Newport Harbor on Friday night.

The Oilers’ assessment was agreeable with that of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings — the Sailors are the best team they have seen. The Sailors are definitely perfect so far.

Senior outside hitter Cole Pender had a match-high 17 kills, and visiting Newport Harbor defeated No. 7 Huntington Beach 25-22, 26-28, 25-8, 25-16 in the teams’ Sunset League opener.

The Sailors improved to 17-0 overall. Senior libero Grant Guinasso called Newport Harbor a consistent, but deceptive group.

“They switch it up a lot, and you don’t know what to expect,” the Oilers’ defensive specialist said.

It took only a momentary lapse from the Oilers for Newport Harbor to be off to the races. After an inspiring rally by the Oilers evened the match at a set apiece, the Sailors seized control and did not relinquish it.

Ohio State-bound middle blocker Ethan Talley had 13 kills and eight block assists. Junior outside hitter Dayne Chalmers had 13 kills and a solo block, and junior outside hitter Jack Higgs had 10 kills and nine block assists. Junior setter Joe Karlous had 47 assists.

In their previous contest, the Sailors had seen their perfect season pushed to the edge by No. 5 Corona del Mar. The Sea Kings had five match points in the Orange County Championships final on Monday, but Newport Harbor survived.

The Sailors took no chances this time, putting up an impenetrable blocking wall in the third and fourth sets. After the teams were tied 6-6 in Game 3, Newport Harbor rattled off the next 10 points in a row.

The final five points of the third set saw the Sailors notch four blocks.

“We go over a lot of statistics before our game and plan ahead,” Higgs said. “We really evaluate the game before.

“We play as a whole unit, and I think that our bench is a really strong part of that unit. We take it as a whole, and as a team, we fight together.”

Several bench players saw action for the Sailors, a testament to the trust that Newport Harbor coach Rocky Ciarelli has in the depth of his squad. The match was clinched on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Caden Garrido, who had six block assists over the final three sets.

“It’s a great experience,” Garrido said of being part of a group that can rely on each other. “I think we’re very grateful to have these guys on the team and have the coaches that we do. We’re just super lucky kids, and we’re trying to make the most of it.”

Huntington Beach (16-4) rallied from a 22-17 deficit to win Game 2. Asked what it takes to win a set against the top team in CIF, sophomore outside hitter Sinjin Choi said that the Oilers did not have to be perfect.

“I feel like you don’t have to play perfect as long as you keep them under pressure,” Choi said. “In the beginning, we did a good job of keeping up the pressure throughout the whole set. We weren’t putting our heads down when we got down.”

Senior outside hitter Mitchell Bollinger had a team-high 14 kills for the Oilers. Senior opposite Hunter Dickey added 10 kills and two total blocks. Choi finished with 11 kills and 10 digs.

Guinasso, who had 22 digs, added that the Oilers’ future success would depend on their mental fortitude.

“If we think that we can win a game, then I believe we can,” he said. “There’s times when we got iffy, and we didn’t know if we could win anymore. That’s when Newport went on its run.

“I think it just comes down to our mental attitude. If we can stay positive and stay together, we can win any game we want.”

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner