Sailors speed past Poly

LONG BEACH — The girls’ volleyball assembly line overseen by Coach Dan Glenn at Newport Harbor High operates best at a brisk pace.

Bump, set, spike, serve ... Repeat.

Opposing coaches, realizing this, have been known to try to throw a wrench in the gears by limiting the availability of balls, sometimes resulting in a delay between serves that can help stifle the Sailors’ urgency and momentum.

But such tactics are moot in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, in which a requirement that three balls be available facilitates no waiting at the service line.

And no waiting for Newport Harbor, usually means a quick exit for opponents.

Such was the case Saturday, as the top-seeded Sailors dispatched host Long Beach Poly, 25-16, 25-15, 20-25, 25-15, in the Division I-AA quarterfinals.

The win moves the Sailors (27-6) into Tuesday’s semifinals against visiting Santa Margarita, which won at Long Beach Wilson Saturday.

“I thought we played with a lot of speed and we served tough,” Glenn said after beating the Jackrabbits for the second time this season. Newport Harbor won in five games in the season opener on Sept. 10, also at Poly.

“The last time we played them Katey [Thompson, a 6-foot senior middle blocker] was just coming off a sprained ankle and she played without having practiced in a week,” Glenn said. “She did a pretty good job [Sept. 10], but not like we need her.”

Thompson produced 18 kills, six aces and was in on four blocks to help lead the Sailors. And most of her kills came on quick sets in the middle, often before Poly could fashion any type of block.

“We got the speed going,” Thompson said. “As long as we don’t make unforced errors, we’re good to go.”

The errors, particularly missed serves, were scarce the first two games, allowing the Tars to establish command.

“I think we missed one serve the first two games,” said Glenn, whose team managed seven aces in that same span. “And we served tough. Those two things together really helped us.”

The Sailors finished with 12 aces and just six missed serves, four coming in the third game, when Poly prolonged the match.

But it was too little, too late for the hosts, the No. 3 representative from the Moore League.

“If you let [the Jackrabbits] get going, they play better,” Glenn said. “They won their first two [playoff] matches in three games. That’s why it was critical for us to get off to a good start tonight. Fortunately, we did.”

The visitors led, 12-3, 15-4 and 17-5 in the opening game, then opened a 14-4 cushion in Game 2.

And the finish wasn’t bad either for the Sailors, who seized advantages of 11-5 and 17-9 before closing out the final game.

Kirby Burnham, a USC-bound senior outside hitter, amassed 24 kills, while junior outside hitter Maddy Brown chipped in seven kills and eight digs for the winners.

Sophomore setter Cinnamon Sary had 56 assists.

Burnham and senior libero Kelly Heenan had two aces apiece, while Mackenzi Campbell and Sary added one each.

Glenn said the tempo of the match worked in his team’s favor.

“We want to play fast,” he said. “During the season, people can slow down the game a little bit. But in the playoffs, it’s a three-ball system [ball persons always have a ball near the end line ready to feed the server], which really helps us play with speed. A lot of people know I like my team to play fast, so, during the season, they don’t use the three-ball system.”

Poly Coach Leland McGrath-Quin, said Glenn’s systematic approach makes the Sailors tough to beat, at any speed.

“Danny prepares his girls for these matches,” McGrath-Quin said. “He cranks up the intensity and he’s so hard on them in practice, that they just come out [during matches] and have fun. We definitely didn’t match their intensity.

“The [Newport Harbor] girls are good and [Glenn] is arguably the best coach in high school volleyball.”