Mater Dei Doesn’t Get Point, Loses to Newport Harbor

One more point.

Mater Dei couldn’t score an elusive 15th point in the second game and Newport Harbor rallied to win the game and eventually the match, 15-7, 16-14, 15-6, in a Division I girls’ volleyball state tournament second-round match in front of a crowd of about 1,000 Saturday at Newport Harbor.

Junior middle blocker Heather Cullen had 13 kills for Newport Harbor, which trailed, 14-7, in Game 2 but scored the final nine points to win the game, gain momentum and advance to play Fresno Bullard at home Tuesday in a Division I semifinal.

Top-seeded Newport Harbor, which lost its only best-of-five match to Mater Dei on Oct. 15, got some redemption in Saturday’s one-hour blowout.

With the defending Division I state champion Sailors (24-1) playing well and Mater Dei (18-3) struggling, the result wasn’t pretty.

“We were so thankful just to get a rematch,” said Newport Harbor senior April Ross, who finished with 10 kills and seven digs. “This match was the most fun we’ve had all year.”

It wasn’t enjoyable for Mater Dei.

The Monarchs struggled with their passing all night, as they did in their loss to Santa Barbara San Marcos in the Southern Section Division I-A championship match last weekend. And Newport Harbor took advantage, adding the exclamation point in Game 2.

After Mater Dei came out tight in Game 1, the Monarchs made some adjustments and senior middle blocker Lindsay Pavlik, who has committed to Northwestern, found her rhythm, tallying five of her team-high eight kills in Game 2 to help Mater Dei take a 14-7 lead.

But an opponent with 14 points is an invitation for a Newport Harbor rally.

In the section Division I-AA semifinals, the Sailors rallied from a 14-6 deficit in Game 1 against Esperanza to win the game, 17-15, and the match in three games.

In October, with the Sea View League championship on the line, Newport Harbor rallied from a 14-3 deficit against Irvine in the fourth game, erased seven match points to win the game and eventually took the match in five games.

On Saturday, the Sailors slowly started chipping away at the deficit. Ross tallied a kill from the back row and then jump-served for an ace to pull Newport Harbor within 14-9. A kill on an overpass by Cullen made it 14-10.

Then Cullen served for the final six points.

Krista Dill and Brenda Waterman combined to block Pavlik to make it 14-12, then three aces by Cullen pushed the Sailors ahead, 15-14. A Mater Dei net violation on a block attempt ended the game.

“We don’t plan to do it that way,” Ross said. “But we’ve been there before so we have confidence that we can come back.”

The rally seemed to take the steam out of the Monarchs.

“One more point and we get through that second game,” Mater Dei Coach Craig Pazanti said. “Then I think our nerves settle down and maybe it’s a different match.

“Some of that goes to Newport’s experience. They’ve been here before and we haven’t.”