No. 1 Sailors Ready to Meet No. 3 Cougars

Newport Harbor, the top-seeded girls’ volleyball team in the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs, meets third-seeded Capistrano Valley at 7 tonight in the championship match at Cypress College.

The Sailors, led by outside hitter April Ross and setter Jennifer Carey, are 22-0 and the division’s defending champions. The Cougars (21-1) upset second-ranked Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 15-8, 7-15, 15-10, 15-11, Tuesday behind Kristin Gallups’ 23 kills and Becky Warnick’s 22.

Saturday’s slate of championship games at Cypress College includes third-seeded Ocean View meeting top-seeded Torrance Bishop Montgomery for the Division III-AA title at 10 a.m. At 1 p.m., second-seeded Calvary Chapel will meet Olympic League rival Cerritos Valley Christian in the Division IV-AA final. The Eagles dropped both their league matches to top-seeded Valley Christian.

It’s an all-county matchup in the Division II-AA final at 4:30 p.m., when defending champion Santa Margarita, seeded No. 2 in the playoffs, meets upstart Cypress, which knocked off top-seeded Mater Dei in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Cerritos Gahr in Tuesday’s semifinals.

At 7:30, second-seeded Marina, the defending Division I-A champion, meets top-seeded Simi Valley Royal in Gym II, while top-seeded La Habra meets second-seeded Lakewood St. Joseph for the Division II-A title.

General admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children under 12. Student tickets are available only at participating high schools.