Newport Harbor

HUNTINGTON BEACH - A showdown for first place in the Sunset League ended rather quickly on Tuesday. The sun was still out by the time the Newport Harbor High boys' volleyball team left the Huntington Beach gym. The Sailors went home no longer perfect in league play and no longer on top of the league. The Sailors are the defending league champions, but the Oilers showed why they're the league favorites this season. Huntington Beach swept the Sailors, 25-22, 25-21, 25-20, ending Newport Harbor's 17-match league winning streak, which dated back to 2010.

Ten high school surf teams. One winner. They held the Oakley High School Surf Team Challenge last Saturday at 54th Street in Newport Beach, a new aspect of Oakley's Surf Shop Challenge series, featuring Orange County's top high school surfers. The event was a smashing success, particularly for Newport Harbor High, which beat the other nine high school teams to take home the West Region crown. Besides bragging rights, Newport Harbor gets $5,000 (split between the athletic and science departments)

Even though the Edison High girls' volleyball team couldn't knock off visiting Newport Harbor Tuesday night in the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA semifinals, the Chargers will be a team to keep an eye on in the future. The young Chargers took a senior-laden and veteran Newport squad to the limit in a thrilling match which saw the Sailors, led by the play of Alyson Jennings, survive with a 27-25, 12-25, 22-25, 25-19, 17-15 victory. Jennings' play allowed the Sailors to stave off elimination, as Edison (17-3)

The Huntington Beach High surf team kept waiting for a set. And waiting. And waiting. It never came during much of the Oilers? time at the Red Bull Riders Cup Orange County Regional Championships, as Huntington Beach fell to champion Newport Harbor, 64 points to 61.5 points, at the Huntington Beach Pier. Newport Harbor moves on to the national championships, which will be held June 6-7 at Upper Trestles in San Clemente. The Riders Cup is run in a ?game? format, as teams alternate trying to earn points in four quarters.

Marina clinched a tie for the 2013 Sunset League softball championship Tuesday when the Vikings rolled to a 12-0 victory at Newport Harbor. Emili Olague went three for three with a home run and junior pitcher Tera Blanco earned the win to improve to 23-3. "I am very pleased with the team's performance," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. "They came out on fire and really took charge and played all six innings with intensity. Marina, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, can earn the Sunset title outright with a victory Thursday over Fountain Valley.

The Huntington Beach High boys’ volleyball team won a key Sea View League match Tuesday, sweeping Woodbridge, 26-24, 25-16, 25-16, in a battle for first place. The defending league champion Oilers (19-4, 5-0) are now in first place outright. Nick Siegel had 15 kills and Andrew Tenbrink added eight for the Oilers, ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll. Edison, meanwhile, suffered a tough Sunset League loss to Newport Harbor in five games, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 16-14.

There weren’t a ton of highlight-reel moments from either team. But in the Sunset League, you take what you can get, and what the Edison High boys’ volleyball team got Tuesday night at home was an important 25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-17 victory over Marina. The Chargers (12-8, 3-0 in league) have a first-place showdown with Newport Harbor Thursday at 5:45 p.m. At 2-0, the Sailors are the other undefeated team in league, and Edison would love to take that away. There was no looking ahead Tuesday night, however, although Edison Coach Brian Boone wasn’t totally thrilled with his team’s performance.

There weren?t a ton of highlight-reel moments from either team. But in the Sunset League, you take what you can get, and what the Edison High boys? volleyball team got Tuesday night at home was an important 25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-17 victory over Marina. The Chargers (12-8, 3-0 in league) have a first-place showdown with Newport Harbor at 5:45 p.m. tonight. At 2-0, the Sailors are the other undefeated team in league, and Edison would love to take that away. There was no looking ahead Tuesday night, however, although Edison Coach Brian Boone wasn?

NEWPORT BEACH — There appeared to be an upset in the making at Newport Harbor High Tuesday night. Edison came out hot, much more aggressive than the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division I-AA. But the Chargers couldn’t sustain their momentum, especially after losing starting setter Alica Vogel to what appeared to be a broken pinkie finger. Instead, Newport Harbor earned points at key moments on its way to a 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-16 Sunset League win. “That first game we played great,” Edison Coach Trent Jackson said.

Marina clinched a tie for the 2013 Sunset League softball championship Tuesday when the Vikings rolled to a 12-0 victory at Newport Harbor. Emili Olague went three for three with a home run and junior pitcher Tera Blanco earned the win to improve to 23-3. "I am very pleased with the team's performance," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. "They came out on fire and really took charge and played all six innings with intensity. Marina, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, can earn the Sunset title outright with a victory Thursday over Fountain Valley.

A year ago, the Huntington Beach High boys' volleyball team sewed up a Sunset League championship by defeating reigning champion Newport Harbor in the second to last league match of the season. Tuesday on the same floor, the visiting Oilers again secured the Sunset crown by taking down the Sailors this time, one match earlier. Huntington went to 8-0 in league and in the process repeated as league champ by sweeping Newport Harbor, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22. The win also put the Oilers, ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, at 24-2 overall.

The Fountain Valley High express keeps on churning. The Barons and Newport Harbor got a jump on the rest of their Sunset League baseball brethren by playing on Tuesday and on their home field, the Barons produced a 13-3 victory over the Sailors. Fountain Valley, which leads the Sunset race at 8-0, scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to take control and had 17 hits for the game. Daniel Patzlaff went two for four with a home run and four runs batted in, Brock Lundquist went three for four with a home run, and John Shattles, Justin Brand and Jordan Lucio all went two for four.

So far, so good, for the Huntington Beach boys' volleyball team. The Oilers passed their first two tests of the Sunset League season in the past week capped by a 25-20, 25-21, 25-17 sweep on Tuesday of host Marina. The win moved the Oilers, ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, to 12-2 overall. It also kept them tied atop the league standings with Newport Harbor, a team the Oilers play host to Thursday. Senior middle blocker Emmett Ross and junior libero Jake Weiser led Huntington with five kills each.

Thursday Boys' Golf (2:30 p.m.) Huntington vs. Newport Harbor (at Big Canyon CC) Track and Field (2:45 p.m.) University at Huntington Ocean View at Santa Ana Boys' Tennis (3 p.m.) Huntington at San Clemente Swimming (3 p.m.) Ocean View at Costa Mesa Softball (3:15 p.m.) Newport Harbor at Ocean View (TBA) Edison at Best of West Tournament Marina at Laguna Hills Tournament Boys' Volleyball (6 p.m.) Ocean View at Marina * Friday Boys' Volleyball (3 p.m.)

Ahoy! Did it really cost the Coast Guard $50,000 to search for a boater claiming that his boat was sinking inside Newport Harbor? Apparently, this same person issued six fake mayday calls over the VHF marine band radio's distress Channel 16 last month as the Daily Pilot reported Oct. 31. Search and rescue is an important mission of the Coast Guard and the local harbor patrols, but the price tag of $50,000 seems inflated as the actual...

It's only the second week of the five-week Sunset League season, but already a front runner for the title could emerge Friday. A 5-1 Edison team takes on a 5-1 Los Alamitos squad Friday in a showdown between two of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division leaders at 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. It's the No. 1-ranked Chargers versus the No. 3 Griffins, both looking to move to 2-0 in league play. Friday's prep football slate is full of other key games. Huntington Beach, the other undefeated team in the Sunset League, travels to face city rival Marina.