Quartet leads Newport

Most high school girls’ volleyball teams have one or two captains, maybe three. Three can be excessive in a sport with six players on each side of the court separated by a net.

At Newport Harbor, there are four captains. The Sailors have enough “C’s” for a computer geek to develop software.

The high number of captains is a first for Coach Dan Glenn, who’s in his 24th year at the school.

The total can confuse officials at matches. When introducing themselves to the Sailors’ captains, they meet middle blocker Katey Thompson, outside hitter Kirby Burnham, libero Kelly Heenan and setter Mackenzi Campbell.

“It’s kind of funny at coin tosses and stuff when you bring two-thirds of your team out there,” Glenn said. “They switch off on coin tosses, so if you lose the coin toss, then you’re no longer calling the toss until it comes back around to you.”

The final coin toss of the season is tonight. Whichever senior gets to call heads or tails, the captain will surely be concerned with helping Newport Harbor win more than the toss.

Without the four captains, Glenn said the Sailors aren’t playing Salinas tonight for the CIF State Division I championship at UC Irvine at 7.

Newport Harbor (32-6) is enjoying one of its finest seasons in the program’s history. A lot of it stems from the leadership provided by Thompson, Burnham, Heenan and Campbell.

Before they led the Sailors to their first state final appearance since 1999, each experienced their fair share of ups and downs.

“We’ve definitely had a lot of downs,” Glenn said. “But it’s made the ups that much more enjoyable.”

The Sailors are the heavy favorites to beat Salinas (29-4) and win their fifth state title under Glenn. They haven’t always been the top team.

In the previous three years, Thompson, Burnham, Heenan and Campbell have seen the team lose more big matches than they won. The setbacks keep the Sailors motivated, most of it is out of fear the season will end in defeat.

The last two years the Sailors fell way short of their goal. Last year, they were swept by Long Beach Wilson in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs. Glenn called the loss “a disappointing finish” to the season.

The year before was far more devastating. In the section semifinals, Newport Harbor won the first two games at Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach before dropping the next three games and bowing out in tears.

Thompson and Heenan played in the match as sophomores. They remember it quite clearly.

“Every time that we’re up, and it’s like really close, I’m like, ‘We’re not doing this again. We’re not going to … get beat,’” Thompson said. “I think throughout, we’ve developed a thicker skin. We’ve been able to push through games and finish hard.”

Even when they’re down, these Sailors swing back.

That was the case Tuesday in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division I final at Dos Pueblos of Goleta. Newport Harbor lost a hard-fought Game 1. After exchanging sides, trying to forget about getting behind a team that swept them on Oct. 31 on the same court, Glenn said very little to the Sailors.

He didn’t have to motivate them. He has Thompson, Burnham, Heenan and Campbell for that.

“They kind of had a lot to say,” said Glenn, who saw the Sailors battle back by winning Games 2 and 3, then the decisive fifth game to pull off the upset.

“The best thing about it this year is they’ve kind of kept it really positive. That’s really nice to see.”

What’s even better to Glenn has been watching four players develop a work ethic strong enough to attract the attention of colleges. Thompson is headed to UC Santa Barbara, Burnham to USC, Campbell to Montana State, and Glenn said UCSB is interested in Heenan.

Each captain stands out in her own right. On another team, they’re the lone star.

The 6-foot-1 Thompson is the calming voice on the team. She’s also not afraid to hammer a shot off your face, either.

“She’s always willing to take the blame for things and never really is pointing the finger at her teammates,” Glenn said. “That’s probably one of her greatest leadership qualities.”

When Glenn wants steadiness, he has Heenan. Glenn coached her older sister, Jamie, two years ago.

“She’s probably the best all-around player on the team as far as fundamentals,” Glenn said. “She’s made my job a lot easier the last three years having her as the libero.”

The sparkplug on the team is Campbell. She’s 5-6, the smallest player on the court, and the most competitive. She’s battled back after breaking her pinkie in three places.

“She’s brought a different attitude to this whole group,” Glenn said. “She’s kind of changed the way a lot of these kids have played because she’s just a fighter.”

The tallest captain is Burnham at 6-2. She missed her sophomore year with the team, spending it abroad in France, where she played some club volleyball.

Since Burnham returned, she’s blossomed.

“Kirby has just gotten better and better,” said Glenn, who noticed how hard Burnham worked in the spring and rewarded her as a captain after originally planning on naming just three captains. “I never say we can only have one or two [captains]. It kind of depends on the situation.

“This group has come through.”

The last “C” Glenn wants his captains to earn is a championship tonight.