No. 1 Newport Harbor Stands Tall

Newport Harbor, with four front-line players over 6 feet tall, held a distinct height advantage over visiting Laguna Beach in Saturday’s Southern Section Division I-AA girls’ volleyball playoff match.

But the top-seeded Sailors also needed plenty of hustle as they beat the determined Artists, 16-14, 15-4, 15-4.

Laguna Beach outside hitter Kristin Gunderson, who is 5-7, powered the ball through the Newport Harbor block effectively as the Artists (14-6) rallied for six consecutive points to tie the score, 10-10, in the first game.

Newport Harbor (20-0) pushed the lead to 14-11 before being caught at 14, but the game was decided on two hitting errors by Laguna Beach separated by a sideout.

“We try not to depend on our height too much,” said 6-1 junior April Ross, who had 16 kills, 17 digs and four aces. “We like to depend on our defense.”

Senior middle blocker Kathy Lavold (6-2) had nine kills and junior middle blocker Krista Dill (6-2) added eight for Newport Harbor. Setter Jennifer Carey (6-1) added 45 assists and five kills. Laguna Beach had no starter over 5-10.

The Sailors advance to play Irvine in the quarterfinals Tuesday. The site will be determined by a coin flip. This will be the third meeting between the Sea View League teams. Newport Harbor won the first meeting in three games and the second in four.

“The kids played really well at the end of the first game,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “We’re getting better, especially our middle block and our coverage.”