Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball beats CdM to repeat as Orange County champion

Back Bay boys’ volleyball has been going strong.

Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar had taken turns as winner of the Orange County Championships the last two years, and the rivals met in the tournament final again on Monday night.

The consistency of the schools in the county showcase is just one example of how healthy and enduring the rivalry has been. Its strength in recent years has compelled Sea Kings coach Steve Conti to call it the USC vs. UCLA rivalry of the high school level.

What transpired on the court was certainly worthy of that description. Newport Harbor’s undefeated season was put to the test, but the Sailors rallied for a 19-25, 26-24, 19-17 victory in the Orange County Championships final at Edison High.

Newport Harbor (16-0), ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, erased five match points against the No. 5 Sea Kings (11-3). On those points, the Sailors got three kills from junior outside hitter Dayne Chalmers and one from junior setter Joe Karlous.

UCLA-bound outside hitter Cole Pender was excited to repeat as county champion, saying, “That’s definitely the goal, but the main goal is CIF. We’re not there yet, so it’s just a step in the right direction. It feels great to be winners, first place in this tournament again.”

Pender had 11 kills, two service aces and a block. Chalmers had a team-high 13 kills, and junior outside hitter Jack Higgs had seven kills and two blocks.

Karlous (31 assists) flexed and stared down his own bench after his only kill evened Game 3 at 14-14. In spite of the impassioned reaction, Karlous said his team never lost sight of the next point ahead.

“I don’t think it matters what the score is,” Karlous said of his team’s composure. “We play every point like it’s 0-0. We just keep going.”

Senior middle blocker Ethan Talley, an Ohio State commit, had five kills and two blocks. Newport Harbor rattled off the final four points of the second set, with Talley’s kill sending the match to a third set.

“I just think maybe we lacked a little sense of urgency,” Talley said. “We all realize that this is our goal to beat this team. We’ve come up short a lot of the years before. To come out on top means a lot to us.”

Unfortunately for the Sea Kings, senior opposite Kevin Kobrine (14 kills) could not find the right sideline on two of his swings. One of the errors came on match point with CdM leading 24-23 in Game 2. He also was wide of the mark on the final point.

Conti said he was not sour in defeat, propping up Kobrine for raising his level for Monday’s match.

“He made a couple of unforced errors at the end of a couple of sets, but I think that’s the most purpose that I’ve seen him play with,” Conti said of Kobrine.

Kobrine had a match-high 14 kills. USC signee Brandon Browning added nine kills, and junior outside hitter Adam Flood had seven kills. Senior setter Diego Perez had 34 assists and two aces.

“That’s the top team in all of CIF,” Conti added. “That’s the best team, and we’re right there with them. This is exactly where I had hoped we’d be at this point in the year.”

CdM came storming out of the gates. The Sea Kings opened with a 15-5 lead in the first set. Newport Harbor was able to cut the 10-point margin to three twice, but it would not get any closer.

“They hung in there, and that says something,” Sailors coach Rocky Ciarelli said. “For high school kids to get rocked like that to start a match. The first set, I thought we got back in the game a bit, and I thought that showed a lot of character on our part.”

Newport Harbor and CdM will meet again on April 7, when the Sailors host the annual Battle of the Bay match.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner