CIF STATE VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS : It’s Smooth Sailing for Newport Harbor

STOCKTON — It wasn’t an easy trip, but Newport Harbor made the sailing as smooth as possible.

The Sailors came back from a three-point deficit and scored seven consecutive points in Game 5 as they advanced to the State Division I championship match with an 11-15, 15-9, 15-10, 10-15, 15-8 victory over Stockton St. Mary’s at University of Pacific Tuesday night.

By losing to Corona del Mar in the Southern Section Division I final Nov. 20, the Newport Harbor girls’ volleyball team was unseeded and faced a rougher road to the tournament final than the champion Sea Kings.

While Corona del Mar stayed home and played host to three State tournament rounds, Newport Harbor drove to Bakersfield, Poway and finally, flew to Stockton. But the Sailors took the travel in stride.

“We don’t mind not playing at home,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said earlier in the week. “We’re playing well on the road.”

Case in point: St. Mary’s (37-3) took a 5-2 lead in the final game. But behind the hitting of junior Misty May, the Sailors took a 9-5 lead and control of the match.

“She turned it up in the end,” Glenn said of May, who had a match-high 42 kills and 29 digs. “You saw people at the end tipping the ball, but Misty, she was swinging away. . . . The fifth game on the road, it’s anybody’s match. We just got the momentum at the right time.”

Also for the Sailors (32-2), Melissa Schutz had 23 kills and Tina Bowman had six blocks. For St. Mary’s, Jennifer Canevari had 22 kills.

St. Mary’s was the top-seeded team from the northern region and defeated Newport Harbor at a national tournament in Chicago earlier this year, the only team other than Corona del Mar to do so.

St. Mary’s Coach Kathy Hardigan said May was the difference Tuesday: “You just can’t take away from her ability to hit everything, dig for everything.”