Thurlow, Cougars Tough Enough

Third-seeded Capistrano Valley knew it would be tough to fight through the Orange County bracket of the Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball playoffs. Tuesday, they found out how tough.

Newport Harbor extended Capistrano Valley to four games, but Cougar outside hitter Ryan Thurlow had 15 of his 33 kills in the final game to lead Capistrano Valley to a 15-8, 15-10, 7-15, 15-12 victory in a second-round match at Newport Harbor High.

“Thurlow is a man among boys,” Capistrano Valley Coach Darren Utterback said. “And the more pressure there is, the better he plays.”

Capistrano Valley (17-1) faced heavy pressure, staring at a possible fifth game when Newport Harbor (11-7) took a 10-5 lead in Game 4. But Thurlow had eight kills and a block to help the Cougars score 10 of the last 12 points, and the celebration began.

Earlier in the match, Utterback said Thurlow looked a little frustrated because the Newport Harbor defense began digging some of his best spike attempts.

“He’d hit a good one, then would be rolling his eyes when they would pop it back up,” Utterback said. “He better get used to it. It doesn’t get any easier.”

Capistrano Valley advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals and will host to Huntington Beach, a 15-6, 15-2, 15-5 winner over Edison. Capistrano Valley finished the season ranked third in the section poll and Huntington Beach was fifth.

Unseeded Newport Harbor rallied in the third game behind sophomore Matt Jameson (16 kills, 14 digs) and senior Dana Mesenbrink (11 kills, 15 digs). The Sailors scored the first 11 points and sophomore Adam Hearlson closed it out, blocking Thurlow at game point.

But in Game 4, the Cougars scored nine consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead. Setter Jay Monson (51 assists), Thurlow and Drew Carson notched blocks during Brady Starr’s five-point serving run before Thurlow put away a spike from the left side for match point.

“We played well tonight,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “But we just came up short on a few key rotations and gave up runs of points.”

In another Division I match:

Esperanza 3, Claremont 0--Jon Alleman had 20 kills and Justin Dalton had 43 assists in the 16-14, 17-15, 15-11 victory for Esperanza (16-1), which plays Glendale Hoover in the quarterfinals.

In Division II:

Servite 3, Villa Park 1--Mike Deal had 20 kills and Billy Hamilton had 47 assists for host Servite (12-7), which handed Villa Park its first loss of the season, 15-1, 7-15, 15-7, 15-8.

Servite will play at top-seeded Santa Margarita in the quarterfinals Friday. Santa Margarita (16-2) defeated Canyon (11-7), 15-5, 15-5, 15-2. Villa Park ended 17-1.

El Dorado 3, Hacienda Heights Los Altos 0--Brit Galang had 50 assists and Matt Peacock had 21 kills for El Dorado (18-2), which won, 15-10, 15-9, 15-6, and advanced to the quarterfinals to play Goleta Dos Pueblos.

In Division III:

Laguna Beach 3, Whittier Christian 0--Miles McGann had 10 kills and 19 assists for Laguna Beach (15-3), which won, 15-3, 15-12, 15-10. Top-seeded Laguna Beach will play Corona del Mar in the quarterfinals Friday.

Corona del Mar 3, Capistrano Valley Christian 0--Dennis Alshuler had 15 kills, four blocks and five digs for Corona del Mar, which won, 15-9, 15-7, 15-5. Blair Hoppe had 14 kills and Tim Andrews added 13 for the Sea Kings (12-4).

Capistrano Valley Christian ended its season 16-3.

Calvary Chapel 3, Culver City Winward 0--Chadney Meserve, Chris Simmons and Robert Cutler each had 10 kills for fourth-seeded Calvary Chapel (13-3), which advanced to play North Hollywood Campbell Hall.