HUNTINGTON BEACH – The Surf League boys volleyball championship already was decided.
Yet, whenever it’s Huntington Beach vs. Newport Harbor it’s like the teams are playing for an Olympic gold medal.
Newport Harbor swept Huntington Beach in three sets Wednesday, 27-25, 28-26, 25-23.
It proved what almost everyone who has followed Orange County boys volleyball this season knows: Newport Harbor is the better team.
The scores, though, reveal how close the two teams are and how hard-fought the match was.
Newport Harbor went 6-0 in the Surf League and won the league championship.
The Sailors will take a 30-2 overall record into the CIF Southern Section playoffs that begin next week.
It is virtually a lock that Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor will be selected for the Division 1 bracket. Newport Harbor won the Division 1 championship last season.
The top two teams in the four-team Surf League are guaranteed to be in the playoffs. Huntington Beach, 22-6 overall and 3-3 in the Surf League, is tied with Corona del Mar for second place.
Huntington Beach will play Corona del Mar (17-8, 3-3) on Thursday at Edison in a game that was added to schedule to break the tie for second.
The boys volleyball playoff brackets will be released Saturday at 11 a.m.
Only once Wednesday night did either team have a lead of more than three points, and that was when Newport Harbor built a 16-12 advantage in the third set.
And that did not last long. Three points later it was 16-15.
“It’s a great rivalry,” said Newport Harbor coach Andrew Mabry. “There’s so much history that goes back generations. It’s a history of really good volleyball and I thought this was a really good volleyball match tonight.”
Newport Harbor was led by senior outside hitter Luca Curci’s 18 kills. Jake Read added 13 kills. Riggs Guy had seven kills, six blocks and six digs for the Sailors. Newport Harbor senior middle blocker Lukas Johnson had nine kills and sophomore middle blocker Jack…
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