VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : No. 1 Sailors Leave No. 2 Artists Reeling

The Newport Harbor girls’ volleyball machine revved its engine Tuesday, and the Sailors, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, throttled second-ranked Laguna Beach in three games to win a nonleague match at Laguna Beach High.

Misty May had 14 kills and Melissa Schutz had nine kills and three blocks for Newport Harbor, which won, 15-3, 15-8, 15-6, in a match that lasted a little more than one hour.

The result was somewhat surprising considering the Artists extended Newport Harbor to the limit in the final of the Orange County Championships.

Laguna Beach (1-1) held a match point against the Sailors Sept. 17, but Newport Harbor (3-0) rallied to win, 15-17, 17-15, 15-4.

Tuesday, there was no repeat performance.

Newport Harbor scored the first eight points of the match, taking advantage of numerous unforced errors by Laguna Beach. Setter Jenny Hecker, who had 27 assists, served six consecutive points to give the Sailors a 7-0 lead.

In Game 2, Laguna Beach was even at 5-5, then May notched four kills to help the Sailors score seven consecutive points before closing out the game, 15-8.

Game 3 featured more of the same with Schutz tallying three kills to help Newport Harbor score eight consecutive points and take an 11-3 lead before winning, 15-6.

“The kids were focused tonight,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “Last time we played Laguna, we made a ton of unforced errors. But we stepped it up tonight and that was good to see.”

Although the Sailors were near the top of their game, Laguna Beach’s performance neared rock bottom.

The Artists’ offense sputtered, with Michelle Christ, who had six kills, and Lisa Ravensburg, who had four kills and three blocks, leading the way.

“Our passing, our hitting, our digging, everything was out of sync tonight,” said Laguna Beach Coach Michael Soylular. “But we’re not going to give up after this one. This loss will make us work harder.”