Defeat is a bitter pill sometimes.
And we're sure that the Newport Harbor High girls' volleyball team
is still experiencing that bad aftertaste after losing to the Liberty
High Patriots in the CIF Division II Southern California Regional
final.
Still, they have no reason to hang their heads in shame.
After all, the Tars did have a successful season, capturing the
CIF Division II-AA Championship, and were one victory away from vying
for the state crown.
Tuesday's defeat was no pushover for the Bakersfield-based Liberty
High Patriots.
The Sailors dug deep and fought down to the wire, avoiding a
three-game sweep by forcing a fourth game. They led the fourth game
9-4 before running out of gas and losing the shot at the title.
"[The Sailors] fought to the end just like I expected," Liberty
Patriots coach Lean Slayton said.
We wouldn't, and didn't, expect much less, either.
The Sailors are a tough squad and simply ran across a team that
overwhelmed them, much like it had overwhelmed a good Mater Dei squad
earlier.
So, we'd like to take our hats off to these young volleyball
champs who made their school proud:
Whitney George, Christina Fulce, Emily Turner, Kellie King,
Shelley Langford, Jordan Carmack, Alyson Jennings, Alexis Kerns,
Stephanie Trinen, Lauren Miller, Kiley Hall, Bryana Carey, Elizabeth
Clayton, Taryn Tarnutzer and Kristin McClune.
We're sure coach Dan Glenn is rightly as proud of his squad, as
are his assistants: Bryan Cottriel, Matt Schutz and Marissa Cothran.
They can rest assured we are proud, and the community is proud, as
well.
Congratulations.
