COUNTY VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : No. 1 Sailors Live Up to Their Billing

Newport Harbor’s volleyball team outplayed all the preseason hype as well as the eight-team field at the Orange County Championships Saturday at Newport Harbor.

The Sailors, top-ranked in the Southern Section 4-A preseason coaches’ poll, rolled to a 15-4, 15-7 victory over fourth-ranked Edison in the Division I championship match.

“This was a good tournament,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “We didn’t have an easy match all day.”

Newport Harbor made it look easy in the finals, needing only 40 minutes to defeat Edison. It was the Sailors’ second victory over the Chargers this season; they won a five-game, nonleague match March 6.

Edison was coming off a tough, three-game victory over Irvine in the semifinals. The Chargers trailed Irvine, 8-4, in the third game, but rallied to win, 15-13.

Newport Harbor was well rested, having swept Woodbridge, 15-9, 15-4, in the semifinals. Woodbridge held a 7-2 lead in the first game, but Newport Harbor scored 28 of the next 34 points to advance.

“We’re always having trouble getting off to a good start,” Glenn said. “But we’re getting better. These guys know they have a lot of room for improvement.”

The Sailors did get off to a strong start in the finals, building leads of 9-0 and 12-3 in the first game. Newport Harbor scored the final three points on consecutive blocks by Justin McIntee, Frank Griffo and Mark McAnlis.

Griffo, a 6-foot-7 senior middle blocker, played one of his finest tournaments. His blocking frustrated Woodbridge and Edison, and his power hitting in the middle was unstoppable.

Griffo finished with nine kills and four blocks in the championship match. McAnlis added eight kills and McIntee had six.

“Griffo was unbelievable today,” Glenn said. “He had a great tournament. I’ve never seen him play like that before.”

Newport Harbor kept the pressure on Joe McCarthy and Josh Snyder, Edison’s standout outside hitters. Newport Harbor served both players regularly in hopes of tiring them out. McCarthy finished with four kills and Snyder three.

The Chargers played the Sailors tougher in the second game. Newport Harbor built a 7-2 lead, but Edison took advantage of two Sailor hitting errors and narrowed the deficit to 8-6.

But McIntee and sophomore John Vallely each had an ace as Newport Harbor scored seven of the next eight points for the match.

Newport Harbor setter Russ Gan, who finished with 28 kills in the championship match, was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Joining Gan on the all-tournament team were Griffo, McCarthy, Snyder, Woodbridge outside hitter Krister Olsson, Laguna Beach setter David Berney and Irvine outside hitter Chris Swanner.

Huntington Beach, the two-time defending tournament champion, struggled throughout pool play and was eliminated by Edison, 15-10, 15-13, in the first round. Irvine and Woodbridge shared third place.