Tars take title

The victory mattered a lot more to Richley, because he remembered how CdM beat Newport Harbor in the regular-season finale in the Battle of the Bay last year and how the setback affected the Sailors.

"There was a little bit of a let down," said Richley, who finished with two aces and three digs.

The team that is down now is CdM. How fast things can change.

The Sea Kings went into the finale on a high, having won the first five matches of the tournament. In the sixth match, the mistakes began to pile up, as CdM had 17 unforced errors in the opening set.

In a best-of-three format, if a team slips up in one set, it's a big deal.

The Sea Kings always seemed to be playing from behind. They managed to get going during a 6-0 run in the second set and took an 18-17 lead.

The lead didn't last long.

Rakestraw pounded one of his eight kills and Carr collected two of his nine kills to keep Newport Harbor ahead. Setter Connor Leggett fed the bigs, collecting 16 assists.

Brown tried to keep CdM in it, finishing with 18 kills, but the Sea Kings' mistakes continued. They committed back-to-back violations, setting up match point for Richley. And he finished the Sea Kings.

Round 2 is set for May 4 in a best-of-five match at Newport Harbor, unless the teams meet again at another tournament.

"Both teams are going to get a lot better," said Astor, whose team plays host to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. "I told them to enjoy tonight, but let's focus on beating those Mustangs."

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @DCPenaloza