High School Roundup: Sailors edge Mustangs

LOS ANGELES — The Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball team trailed, 8-2, in the fourth set and appeared to be on the verge of losing in four sets at Marlborough on Tuesday night.

Coach Dan Glenn said he called a timeout to remind his Sailors the Mustangs were in the same situation in the second set, yet rallied to win. He encouraged his team to play with confidence. They responded with a rally of their own and survived to remain alive in the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs.

Newport Harbor (20-10) beat host Marlborough, 25-21, 19-25, 27-29, 25-22, 15-11, in a first-round match.

The reward for the Sailors’ victory? They’ll play at top-seeded Redondo Union on Thursday night. The Seahawks (33-3) have won 29 straight matches, including a two-set win over Newport Harbor in the Orange County Championships on Sept. 22.

“We played with them,” Glenn said of Redondo Union during a phone interview. “They’re not a huge overpowering team. But their ball control is phenomenal. They are going to be tough to compete against. We’re excited to advance and give it a shot.”

In Tuesday’s win, Torey Thompson led Newport Harbor with 51 assists, six kills, four digs and two aces. Carolyn Bockrath had 19 kills and Hunter Jennings had 19 digs and two aces for the Sailors.

Gabby Shelley (seven kills, seven digs), Leah Castillo (four kills) and Mary Lyon (three kills) also contributed to Newport Harbor’s win.

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BOYS’ WATER POLO

Chaparral 14, Costa Mesa 10

COSTA MESA — Senior Wyatt Ferris ended his Mustangs career with five goals in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 wild-card game Tuesday.

Costa Mesa Coach Justin Taylor said Ferris finished the season with 111 goals.

The Mustangs (21-7) led, 4-3, after the first quarter, but couldn’t maintain the lead and fell behind, 7-5, before halftime. Taylor said the Pumas kept a two-goal lead throughout most of the second half.

Sophomore Nick Lewis scored two goals and sophomore goalie James Rydjeski had 11 saves. Rydjeski recorded 300 saves during the season, Taylor said.

“Overall I think we had a phenomenal season,” Taylor said. “The program is moving in a good direction ... Despite losing Ferris, we have some talented players coming back. But losing Ferris will definitely be some big shoes to fill.”