Newport Harbor girls’ volleyball strikes back versus Mission Viejo in state playoffs
After being upset in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals a week prior, the Newport Harbor High School girls’ volleyball team was in the process of moving on to the next phase of their school year.
That was the case until last Tuesday, when Newport Harbor coach Andrew Mabry called a Zoom meeting to break some unexpected news: the season was not over.
Mabry said the Sailors received a berth into the CIF State Southern California Regional Division II playoffs after JSerra was disqualified from postseason competition. Mike Middlebrook, an assistant commissioner of the CIF Southern Section, said JSerra self-reported an ineligible player.
On Sunday, the Sailors saw the draw come out, and if possible, they became even more excited. The bracket pitted Newport Harbor against Mission Viejo, the team that knocked it out of the section playoffs.
Senior outside hitter Emma Fults had 13 kills and five service aces to lead Newport Harbor past Mission Viejo 25-23, 29-27, 23-25, 25-19 on Tuesday in the opening round of the state tournament.
Newport Harbor (27-8), the Wave League champion and previously the top seed in the Division 3 playoffs, was eliminated from the section playoffs by the Diablos in a five-setter on the road on Oct. 27.
“It’s exciting,” said senior setter Kate Bland, who distributed 24 assists for the Sailors. “It’s a pretty emotional rollercoaster. We got over that we lost, the season’s over, and we got right back into it. It was kind of rough starting off, but we came here to win. We were here for revenge. You can’t get rid of us.”
Junior outside hitter Quinn Perry had nine kills, five aces and two block assists for Newport Harbor. Senior middle blocker Anne O’Brien provided nine kills and four blocks. Senior outside hitter Emma Coatsworth contributed eight kills and 1½ blocks off the bench, while senior middle blocker Gabbi Higgs and junior outside hitter Anabel Kotzakov each had five kills in the match.
“We took a few days off, and [Mabry] told us to get on a Zoom, when we had no idea what was going on,” O’Brien said. “We heard we’re back in state, we were all super fired up, and when the brackets came out Sunday, we figured out we were playing [the Diablos] again, and we were all even more fired up to get another shot at them.”
Junior setter Tegan Glenn compiled 18 assists for Newport Harbor, with her one kill clinching the first set. Junior libero Laine Briggs had a diving serve receive and the bump set that led to Fults’ match-ending kill.
“That was a really, really fun night,” Mabry said. “I’m really proud of our kids. They played hard. They played to win the entire time. They were ready to go. We had a great week of practice getting ready for this, and they really stepped up and responded tonight.”
Senior outside hitter Kaylie Steward had a match-high 14 kills for Mission Viejo (14-9). Junior middle blocker Chloe Karn had 10 kills and 3½ blocks, senior outside hitter Danica Wulf added 10 kills and two blocks, and senior setter Sam Lister provided 35 assists, two kills and two aces.
With a roster made up entirely of juniors and seniors, Newport Harbor wants to continue making memories for as long as it can. The Sailors travel to take on Pacific Coast League champion Beckman (26-10) in the second round on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“We had a good showing tonight,” said O’Brien. “And I think we have a good run coming ahead of us.”
::
Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
