Upset bid fails

Rick Devereux

There is a reason why the Huntington Beach High boys volleyball team

is ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division I.

The Oilers have been going through opponents like a hypochondriac

goes through tissues during allergy season, running up a perfect 5-0

non-tournament record, losing only one of their 19 games.

It looked like host Newport Harbor was going to be yet another

sweep at the hands of the Oilers Friday night in a nonleague match,

but the Sailors put forth a valiant effort and came up just shy of

the upset in Huntington’s 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-25, 18-16 victory.

“We made the scrappy plays we needed to win this match,” said Trey

Valbuena, who led Huntington Beach with 19 kills.

Newport Harbor, which falls to 7-9, took a six-point lead early in

the first game, but mistakes allowed the Oilers (6-0) to gain

momentum and tie the game at 18-18 and eventually take a 24-19 lead

before securing the victory.

“I am really disappointed in the first game,” Newport Coach Dan

Glenn said. “We had a [big lead], and then we have unforced errors

that let [Huntington Beach] back into the game. Bu I’ve got to give

them credit. They capitalized on our mistakes. They are steady and

they will let you beat yourself.”

Following a loss in the second game thanks in large part to a 7-0

run by Huntington Beach, the Sailors had their backs against the

wall. The Tars fired out to a 9-2 lead in the third game. Newport

Harbor tweaked the rotation slightly so that senior opposite hitter

Brett Perrine started in the front row.

“The last three games we were able to get him the ball more,”

Glenn said. “He can do anything: he can hit, he can set, he can pass,

he can serve.”

The rotation helped Newport and Perrine, who had nine of his

match-high 31 kills in the third game, as the Sailors never trailed.

As the match progressed, Newport’s communication and passing

improved, a big reason why the Oilers were allowed to win the first

two games.

“We’re a young team and we run around a lot and do a lot of things

[on offense],” Glenn said. “We’re still kind of learning.”

When the defense was able to pass the ball, the running around did

work for Newport Harbor. Perrine hammered home thee kills in the

opening game thanks to an attack where the outside hitter and middle

blocker criss-cross on their way to the net. Middle blockers Parker

Stevens and Weston Dunlap finished with nine and 10 kills,

respectively, thanks mainly to the misdirection plays designed to

keep Huntington’s blockers guessing where the set will go.

“We got together after the second game and said we weren’t going

to lose in our own gym,” Perrine said. “We had a chance to win [the

match], which is what we wanted.”

The match looked like it was on the verge of being over in the

fourth game, but the Tars went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-8 lead.

Consecutive kills on a quick attack from Stevens and a service ace

from Perrine gave Newport a commanding 18-13 lead with enough

momentum to earn the 25-15 win and force a fifth game.

In the final game, Newport had match-point at 14-13 and again at

15-14, but the Oilers were able to stave off defeat both times and

took their first lead since 1-0 on a kill by Troy Bailey to have

their own match point at 16-15.

A kill by Dunlap tied the game again, but a kill by Rory Jones and

Newport Harbor hitting error closed out the match.

The win was 300th career victory for Oiler Coach Rocky Ciarelli,

who was been at Huntington Beach since 1985.

Newport did not play Kyle Caldwell, a freshman outside hitter,

because of an injured ankle. Blake Newman started in Caldwell’s place

and finished with six kills. Ted Slater had a match-high 55 assists

for the Sailors.