Girls’ Volleyball: Sailors stay on roll
It wasn’t too long ago this season when the Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball program was all about rare descriptions, like rebuilding and inexperienced.
There was gloom after the Sailors lost to rival Corona del Mar and fell to 3-12, their worst start under the great Coach Dan Glenn, who began coaching in 1986. His teams had never missed the CIF Southern Section playoffs, but there was talk about that streak coming to an end.
However, the Sailors actually gained confidence and they used the doubts and criticism as motivation to turn their season around.
They have since gone 4-1 and on Wednesday at Marina they continued to show their newfound stellar play as they beat the Vikings, 25-1, 19-25, 25-12, 25-12, in Sunset League action.
“The team has been very aggressive and very supportive of each other throughout all of this,” said senior Carolyn Bockrath, who led Newport Harbor with 26 kills and two blocks, and hit .550 (24 of 40). “In the beginning we knew a lot of people doubted us but we never doubted ourselves. And we came back from that and we’ve obviously shown that we are able to play up to the standards that everyone expects us to.”
The Sailors’ biggest win of the season came Monday when they upset Los Alamitos, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA.
Glenn said there could’ve been a chance his girls would show a mental letdown against the Vikings, but Newport Harbor (7-13, 4-1 in league) came out dominant in the first set with the 25-1 win.
Logan Grove served for 20 straight points, including three aces. An official told the scorekeepers that he had never seen such a feat.
Glenn said he “switched some things around,” in the second set, and the Sailors struggled with their passing. But Bockrath helped Newport Harbor bounce back in the third set, as she pounded seven kills and one block. She was also strong in the fourth set, as the Vikings (6-11, 0-5) could not keep up.
Ellie Hagadorn is a great reason the Sailors have shown improvement in league play, Glenn said. The sophomore setter, in her first varsity year, amassed 41 assists and nine digs. Junior Leah Castillo had 10 kills, junior Kaitlynn Bell added 10 digs and three aces and junior Sammie Yeager contributed 15 digs and three aces.
“It was a great win,” Glenn said in a humble tone. “We haven’t had very many this year. So you have to enjoy each and every one of them.”
Glenn was pleased with the 4-1 start in league and the big win against Los Alamitos, but he said the Sailors can still improve. And he said they’ll need to when they face Huntington Beach on Tuesday at home. The Oilers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Newport Harbor in five sets the last time they played.
Huntington Beach lost to Los Alamitos in four sets (26-24, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18), so now the Oilers, Griffins and Sailors are all tied for first place in league.
“We have to keep working hard in practice,” said Bockrath, who also mentioned she is deciding between West Point (the United States Military Academy) or the Naval Academy to continue playing after graduating in the spring. “We have to keep going strong. We have to keep fighting.”
Marissa Stubbs led Marina with 10 kills, while Sarah Baker had five kills, Jane Reynolds had 15 digs and Allison Thompson had 25 assists.