Sailors Cruise to Another Championship

Newport Harbor continued its clean sweep through the Southern Section Division I-AA girls’ volleyball playoffs, defeating Capistrano Valley in three lopsided games in the title match Friday night at Cypress College.

The top-seeded Sailors, who hadn’t lost a game in four playoff matches, again made it look easy, taking an 8-1 lead in the first two games on the way to a 15-7, 15-7, 15-8 victory.

It was the fifth section girls’ volleyball title for the Sailors (23-0), who became the first team to repeat as major division champion since Corona del Mar in 1992 and ’93.

“It’s sweet to win two in a row,” junior middle blocker Krista Dill said. “It really feels sweet. Now we have to go after our next goal, winning state.”

That quest starts next week. Friday’s task was to avoid being upset by pesky Capistrano Valley (21-2), which knocked off second-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the semifinals Tuesday.

The Cougars had trouble getting started, making numerous early errors that enabled the Sailors to win points without much sweat.

“We made a lot of unforced mistakes and that’s not usual for our team,” sophomore setter Andrea Delsigne said. “If we didn’t make those mistakes, we would have had a better chance.

“But we kept fighting. This team has a lot of heart.”

After falling behind 7-0, 8-1 and losing Game 2, Capistrano Valley showed that fight in Game 3.

The Cougars, helped by tough jump serving by Becky Warnick and Lori Thuerbach, took a 7-1 lead. But Newport Harbor, which has four players 6 feet 1 or taller, started dominating with its height. Kathy Lavold, a 6-2 middle blocker, and 6-2 Dill each had three blocks for points in a 14-1 run that gave the Sailors the victory.