Southern Section Volleyball : Newport Harbor, Led by Foster, Wins 4A Title

The Newport Harbor High School Sailors, led by Hugh Foster, rallied to defeat Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 7-15, 15-11, 3-15, 15-6, 15-13, Saturday night in the Southern Section 4-A volleyball final at Marina High School in Huntington Beach.

Newport Harbor (18-0), ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section since preseason, showed why. Or at least Foster did.

In winning two of the first three games, Mira Costa (21-1), despite using one of their top players, 6-7 Brian Ivie, only sparingly because of an injury, still appeared to be the better team. They moved the ball around well, and had Newport Harbor making numerous mistakes.

But the 6-foot-5 Foster took over in the fourth and fifth games. Playing in the back row, he made numerous saves, letting nothing by. And after setting the ball, he would come up front and spike it home.

Mira Costa’s Mustangs were constantly reminded of Foster’s presence on the court. So much so, that Foster became almost as effective as a decoy, as John Alstrom had 22 kills for Newport Harbor.

Foster took charge in the fourth game with six kills as Newport Harbor evened the match with a 15-6 win. In the fifth game, Newport Harbor got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. The Sailors made it 14-8, but the Mustangs fought off seven match points and closed to 14-13.

The dramatic fifth game came to a disappointing end, as the Mustangs had a miscommunication on a serve and let it drop for the match.

Foster had 8 kills in the final game, and 31 for the match.

In the first game, the Mustangs turned a 5-5 tie into a 15-7 win. But Newport Harbor returned the favor in the second game, taking a 12-5 lead before finally putting away Mira Costa, 15-11.

Game 3 was a Mira Costa rout as the Mustangs completely dominated, 15-3. At that point, they appeared to be in control of the match, leading two games to one. But they came out tentative in the next game, and Foster made them pay for it.

In the 3-A final, Loyola won its fourth title in five years, defeating Central League rival Arcadia, 15-11, 15-9, 15-13.

Arcadia, which lost to Loyola twice in league play, got off to a fast start, racing to a 10-1 lead behind senior Perry Carter.

But after a timeout, Loyola (17-3), relying on outside hitter Duncan Blackman and middle blocker Ted Slattery, reeled off 10 straight points and 14 out of 15 to take the first game.

“It was just a matter of them getting into the game,” Loyola Coach Roger Yano said. “Nothing strategic.”

After that, Loyola used its huge front line to dominate Arcadia.