Newport Harbor upsets No. 1 Valencia in Santa Barbara title match

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Seemingly every top-notch boys’ volleyball program from the Southland entered this weekend’s Santa Barbara/Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions showcase. The 16-team field featured seven teams in StudentSportsVolleyball.com’s top 25 national rankings, including three of the top five.

But there’s going to be a new No. 1 the next time those rankings are released.

That’s because Newport Harbor upset Valencia, the online publication’s top-ranked team, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 15-10, in the championship match Saturday at Santa Barbara High.

(Pictured: Valencia’s #23 Skylar Seymore prepares to spike the ball as Newport Harbor’s #20 Kyle Caldwell and #6 Tucker Peleuses ready for a block.)

‘To come in to a prestigious tournament like this and play the way we did tonight, well, let’s just say it’s more than we could have hoped for,’ Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. The Sailors (22-3), ranked No. 4 by StudentSportsVolleyball.com, avenged their loss last month to the Vikings.

‘You almost have to play a perfect game against Valencia,’ Glenn said. ‘That’s a real steady team. They’re awfully tough and play at a different level sometimes. They play full-throttle. We matched their intensity though.’

UCLA-bound Jamey Ker had nine kills to lead Valencia (20-2), which features six players headed to Division I programs. The Vikings are ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division II coaches’ poll.

Newport Harbor, the top-ranked team in Division I, countered with Kyle Caldwell, who is also headed to UCLA. Glenn called the 6-foot-8 left hander, ‘the best player in the gym,’ and the senior proved as much, finishing with 43 assists, 12 kills and four blocks in the title match.

‘Honestly, we were not in fine-tuned shape heading into this tournament, but I wasn’t overly concerned with the kids coming out and playing flat,’ Valencia Coach Mark Knudsen said. ‘This is the toughest tournament around. My guys knew the caliber of competition on the other side of the net.’

Valencia struggled in the quarterfinals Friday night before defeating Long Beach Wilson in five games. But a 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Corona del Mar in the semifinals the next morning restored some confidence.

Newport Harbor had the easier route. The Sailors defeated Santa Ynez in three games in the first round, handled Fresno Clovis West in the three straight in the quarterfinals and toyed with Fresno Bullard in the semifinals Saturday morning, winning in three games.

‘This tournament was big for us,’ Glenn said. ‘This was our shot, our shot at proving we can play with the best and beat the best. That’s what makes this tournament so special. Every game means something.’

Saturday’s fifth-place match featured a showdown between teams ranked among the top five in the nation. Tournament host Santa Barbara, ranked No. 2, was upended by fifth-ranked Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in three games.

‘This event has grown every year since we started back in 1996,’ Santa Barbara Coach Chad Arneson said. ‘
‘We want the tournament to keep growing and we’re heading in the right direction.’

-- Sean Ceglinsky

--- Image by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times