Sailors handle Knights

Barry Faulkner

On a night when its senior star solidified his future at the next

level, the Newport Harbor High boys volleyball team continued to

prove it is a level above the competition in the Sea View League.

The Sailors defeated visiting Foothill, 25-15, 25-22, 20-25,

25-18, Thursday to improve to 11-9, 6-0 in league. It was the Tars’

22nd consecutive victory against league competition, the program’s

38th in its last 39 Sea View contests.

The victory capped a momentous day for Newport Harbor senior Brett

Perrine, who signed a national letter of intent to continue his

volleyball career at UCLA next season. Perrine had verbally committed

earlier, but UC Santa Barbara entered the recruiting picture, before

he officially punched his ticket to Westwood.

Perrine, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter, played like a man with a

future, pounding a match-high 15 kills to lead the hosts.

The Sailors, however, also received a lift from freshman outside

hitter Kyle Caldwell, a 6-6 left-hander who produced 14 kills in his

first match in two weeks.

“Kyle has been out with a stress fracture in his foot,” Newport

Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “He was cleared to play just [Wednesday]

and I wasn’t going to play him in this match.”

Yet Caldwell added punch off the bench early in the first game to

help Newport establish control.

The Sailors, seeking their fourth straight league title, scored

the first four points of the match, then expanded a 6-4 advantage

into a 19-6 edge en route to a one-sided opening-game win.

The Sailors rallied from an early deficit to claim the second

game, before the Knights (12-10, 2-4) held off the Tars in a

closely-contested third game.

The hosts never trailed in the final game, as Newport Harbor never

led by fewer than four points after earning a 10-6 edge.

“We did some good things and I think we’re getting better,” Glenn

said. “I thought we were a little lucky to win at Woodbridge [a

five-game, come-from-behind triumph that handed the Warriors their

first league loss] Tuesday. Foothill is a good team that plays hard.

But we made a lot of mistakes.”

Junior Brett Auer added 12 kills and three stuff blocks to the

victors, who received 46 assists, four stuff blocks, three kills and

two aces from setter Ted Slater.

Perrine had two aces and junior Sean Grubbs chipped in four, while

Parker Stevens (five kills), and Weston Dunlap (four kills) added to

the attack.