THE PREPS : Southern Section Volleyball Playoffs : Newport Harbor Hopes to Provide Service to Win Final

Just after his team’s five-game victory over Marina High School on Thursday in the Southern Section 4-A boys’ volleyball semifinals, Dan Glenn, Newport Harbor coach, was informed that his team would play Loyola in tonight’s final.

Glenn, smiling and still a bit shaken from his team’s 2 1/2-hour marathon match against Marina, remarked that Edison Coach John Herman was a good friend and added: “I’ll get all the news I need on them.”

Maybe so, but it won’t be good news. In its semifinal Thursday, Loyola mauled Edison in three sets, 15-8, 15-6, 15-7. Loyola, the No. 2-seeded team, was able to overcome a much larger Edison team that featured Brian Boone, a 6-foot 5-inch middle blocker, and Mark Presho, a 6-6 outside hitter.

Loyola won’t have those kind of problems in tonight’s final at 8 p.m. at Westminster High. Newport Harbor’s tallest players, Mike Curci and Tony Mertz, are both 6-3.

Each school depends on an exceptional defense and a consistent offense, although Newport Harbor has shown a tendency lately to self-destruct on its serve. The Sailors won the fifth game against Marina despite 10 service errors.

In its quarterfinal match against Woodbridge, Newport Harbor made seven errors in a game. Earlier in the season, it made 21 service errors against Edison.

“It’s definitely been our weakness all year,” Glenn said. “One guy has problems, and all of a sudden, everyone is feeling the pressure.”

It doesn’t figure that Newport Harbor would be able to recover from such lapses against Loyola.

A parochial school located near the Coliseum, Loyola was moved to the 4-A this season after it won the past three 3-A championships. Roger Yano, Loyola coach, doesn’t see any difference between the divisions.

Why should he? Loyola is 19-0 this season.

Yano, who has been coaching at the school for six years, led Loyola to four 3-A championships. He did it at a school without the beach setting that is associated with volleyball powers.

But an inspection of Loyola’s roster reveals . . .

Setter Chris Wrede and outside hitters Jimmy Klein and Bill Bergstron are from Pacific Palisades. Middle blocker Drew Tims is from Manhattan Beach. Middle blocker Duncan Blackman is from Santa Monica.