NEWPORT BEACH >> The Newport Harbor boys volleyball team clinched the Surf League championship Thursday with a victory over rival Corona del Mar, 25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 25-14, in a “Battle of the Bay” match at Corona del Mar High School.
The Sailors (21-5, 5-0) won both of their league matches this season against the Sea Kings (14-5, 2-2) in four sets.
The Sailors, who are ranked No. 3 in the CIF-SS Division 1/2 poll, have one league match remaining against Laguna Beach. The No. 5 Sea Kings finish their league schedule against Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach.
“You never know going in, how it could go,” Newport Harbor coach Eric Vallely said. “The crowd gets involved one way or another and one team gets enough momentum … it’s always interesting.”
The Sailors were led by UCLA signee Luca Curci, who had 15 kills and served two aces, and Pepperdine signee James Eadie, who had 11 kills and four blocks.
Riggs Guy and Jake Read chipped in with 12 and nine kills, respectively.
“That is one of the cool things about our team is the balance of the offense,” Vallely said
Newport Harbor kept the Sea Kings student section from being much of a factor by winning the first two sets.
The Sea Kings fell behind by five points early in the first set but fought their way back and took a two-point lead late in the set. The Sailors scored the final two points on a block from Lucas Johnson and a kill by Curci.
Newport Harbor opened the second set with a 9-3 run and led 24-13 when the Sea Kings made a brief run before Read’s kill ended the set and put the Sailors ahead 2-0.
Corona del Mar won a close third set, taking advantage of the Sailors’ hitting errors and getting strong kills from Jake Olsen and Sterling Foley.
The Sailors closed the fourth set with a 12-6 run to win the match.
Sterling Foley led the Sea Kings with 14 kills and George Bruening had eight kills and seven blocks.
“Honestly, whenever you play in a ‘Battle of the Bay’ match, it’s all about who comes out and is ready,” Sea Kings coach Katey Thompson said. “First set, we came out ready. In the second set, that’s when I think we started to second-guess ourselves a lot. We got hit and staggered getting up.”
Before the match began, Corona del Mar honored the memory of former Sea Kings volleyball and basketball standout Matt Olson, who was killed in a car accident on the 110 freeway in Los Angeles on Aug. 24, 2019.
Olson’s parents participated in the pregame ceremony and the Sea Kings wore matching white T-shirts with Olson’s name and No. 23 on the back.
“Wherever he went, he was always respected,” former Sea Kings coach Steve Conti said. “He made connections with students everywhere he went.”
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