Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball advances to regional final after sweep of Cathedral Catholic

One more win and Newport Harbor’s legacy in boys’ volleyball reaches towering heights, but that’s not what’s driving the dominant Sailors toward their third CIF State Southern California Regional Division I championship in four editions.

They’ve already won three of the past four top-tier Southern Section titles, going back-to-back with last weekend’s sweep of Corona del Mar, and repeating last year’s regional triumph with a home victory in Saturday’s final against Los Angeles Loyola would bring bigger spoils: a third mythical national championship.

That’s on their minds, to be sure, but it’s simpler pleasures paving this path and whatever comes from it.

“For me, the legacy of this group is pretty significant ...,” Newport Harbor coach Andrew Mabry said following the Sailors’ sweep of visiting San Diego Cathedral Catholic on Thursday. “You talk all year about goals, and the section championship is the one that everybody talks about all year. Our whole season kind of leads up to that tournament, so to do that, to go back to back in the sectional, is really special.

“The way that we’ve approached this [regional tournament] is, ‘Hey, we’ve got some more time to play together, to be together, to enjoy the process.’ It’s a great opportunity for these guys to finish their season, the seniors finish their careers here [in] their home gym. It’s a great opportunity to battle and kind of celebrate them on the court.”

There was plenty to fête in the penultimate clash as the top-seeded Sailors, ranked No. 1 nationally by MaxPreps.com, fended off early challenges in each set from the San Diego Section’s Open Division titlist, riding an exceptional Luca Curci, some devastating service, and superb play in all corners to the 25-21, 25-19, 25-17 victory, their 31st sweep this season and 20th in 24 best-of-five encounters.

The UCLA-bound Curci delivered 21 kills, and outside hitter Jake Read and opposite Riggs Guy combined for another 17 kills plus four aces as Newport Harbor (36-2), which first won the CIF/national treble in 2019, doubled up Cathedral Catholic (23-4) to close out the sets, finishing the wins with 8-4, 12-6 and 16-8 runs.

“That’s what the great teams do,” Cathedral Catholic coach Patrick Bonner said. “They’re so good on the pins. They’ve got experienced, high-level guys who can score even when they’re off the net, and that makes them hard to defend.

“Hats off to those guys. They played fantastic.”

Curci was dominant, mostly on the left and from Korbin Francisco’s sets, and middle blockers Lukas Johnson and Jack Berry prospered against 6-foot-9 junior Ryan Enos, the Dons’ top-tier middle with 7-1 Matt Enos, Ryan’s brother, and Easton Judson out with injuries. Each contributed five kills, and Berry had six blocks.

“We just had to play our game,” Curci said. “I think we could have better energy and intensity. We need to step it up for Saturday. I think we’ll do that. ... We want to do our best and win it all. We want to cap it off with another win and be national champions again.”

Loyola’s sweep of Corona del Mar prevented a fourth meeting with the archrival — Newport Harbor won all three — but gave the Sailors the foe they coveted. Only the Cubs (28-2), ranked second nationally, have beaten them in a best-of-five, a four-set nonleague win on March 25. The rematch in the regional final is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Newport Harbor.

“That’s a little revenge game for us,” Curci said. “[We wanted them] because we want to beat them, so we can say we beat everyone.”

Loyola was seeded No. 1 in the Division 1 tournament but was upset by CdM in the pool-play match that determined Newport Harbor’s opponent in the final. The program has four regional Division I championships, the last in 2017, and is in its third successive final.

Newport Harbor swept last year’s title game, and Mabry calls this year’s team “an evolution of the process.”

“What this group has done start to finish is pretty impressive ...,” he said. “It’s been a pretty amazing ride, amazing season, amazing group of guys. We’re excited to get one more chance to play together. Whatever the result is, we don’t know, but we get to compete, which is what we’ve always talked about.”

Also in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division I semifinals:

Los Angeles Loyola 3, Corona del Mar 0: Outside hitter Sterling Foley had 15 kills, but the Sea Kings fell to the visiting Cubs 25-21, 27-25, 25-19 on Thursday.

Opposite George Bruening saw action in the first set, but CdM coach Katey Thompson said an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the match.

Staff writer Andrew Turner contributed to this report.