Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS - Sunset League play resumed this week for the Newport Harbor High boys' volleyball team. Coach Steve Astor said his Sailors, who didn't play last week, haven't kicked one bad habit - starting slow. They came out sluggish at Los Alamitos on Wednesday, but for the second straight night the Sailors finished strong. Newport Harbor swept the Griffins, 25-16, 25-12, 25-18, and improved to 5-1 in league play. "I wasn't happy with how we started the match," Astor said.

NEWPORT BEACH — To the surprise of Coach Dan Glenn, a banner with the No. 25 hung inside the Newport Harbor High gym Tuesday night. The number represented how many years Glenn has coached and taught at the school. Glenn said he felt honored by the tribute and then added that the program is all about his players and not him. The Sailors honored him on the court by opening Sunset League play with a win at home. Newport Harbor swept Marina, 25-15, 25-16, 25-16, showing no signs of a letdown before its upcoming showdown with Los Alamitos.

The Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team nearly ralled in the title game, but finished runner-up in the Californa State High School Championships Sunday at CdM. Los Alamitos beat CdM, 6-5, in the final. The Sea Kings were down, 2-1 at halftime, and, 4-1, early in the third, but rallied back to tie it at 4-4, heading in to the fourth period. Cassidy Papa led the Sea Kings with two goals, while Pippa Saunders, Diana Murphy and Maddie Schwartz added one goal each. CdM beat Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 8-3, in the semifinals Sunday morning.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL Newport Harbor def. Los Alamitos LOS ALAMITOS - Kevin Rakestraw and Clay Carr had 15 kills each to help the Sailors rally to win the Sunset League match, 20-25, 28-30, 25-22, 25-21, 15-10 Friday night. Peirce Ward had 12 kills, Max Richley had 17 digs, Nic Sargeant had 13 digs, Steven Duhoux had 12 digs and Connor Leggett had 41 assists for Newport Harbor (13-5, 3-0 in league). * Sage Hill def. Whitney CERRITOS - Jack Burgi had 17 kills and six digs to help lead the Lightning to a 25-19, 28-26, 22-25, 25-22 Academy League win Friday.

Quest Truxton caught 12 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns last week. Afterward, Truxton said he looked inside the Newport Harbor High program to see where his performance stood in the school's record book. He found out that he couldn't compare his stats. "The only record [the program] keeps is for individual rushing yards for a game," Truxton said. "I talked to the coaches and they said the yards have to be one of the higher records for a receiver at the school. " The kind of night Truxton delivered is rare in the Sailors' run-first offense.

SANTA BARBARA - On Friday night at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, Corona del Mar High girls' water polo Coach Sam Bailey said his squad played like individuals instead of a team. On Saturday afternoon, Bailey saw the opposite. In fact, during a fifth-place semifinal against Los Alamitos, he saw what he said was a defining moment for his team. The player who provided the moment during a break in the action was senior Ioanna Haralabidis. "I felt that all of [my teammates]

CORONA DEL MAR - As she walked off the pool deck at Corona del Mar High on Saturday, freshman Maddie Musselman went past Los Alamitos Coach Dave Carlson. The Sea Kings had just beaten Carlson's Griffins, 7-5, in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal match. The longtime Los Al coach wanted to pay Musselman a compliment. "Are you the freshman?" Carlson asked Musselman, who replied, "Yeah," a bit sheepishly. "You play like a senior," Carlson said. Musselman stepped up with two goals for CdM. Senior Stephania Haralabidis also scored twice and had two nice assists in the fourth quarter, to senior Genevieve Weed and junior Marina Coskinas.

LONG BEACH — Newport Harbor High's Jeff Brinkley tried to do something no other coach has been able to do in 32 years against a Los Alamitos team led by John Barnes. That's beat Barnes for a fourth straight year in Sunset League play. The Sailors fell very short of the feat Thursday night, as they lost to the Griffins, 30-0, in a vital league showdown at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. The contest played out drastically differently to the previous four meetings between these two programs.

Shaun Vetrovec wasn't sure what to do at Newport Harbor High last week. Stay on first base or return to the batter's box? It was late, the bottom of the ninth inning against Los Alamitos. The game-winning run was on second with one out. After facing a couple of pitches, the home plate umpire told Vetrovec to take first base. Apparently, the Griffins put him on, not wanting to pitch to the clean-up hitter. He hurt them in the seventh, when he singled in the game-tying run to force extra innings.