Edison junior outside hitter Hannah Phair was a member of the school’s 2012 varsity team that finished near the bottom of the Sunset League standings.
Last year, she helped the Chargers to a second-place finish.
Now, with a mix of seniors and underclassmen on the roster, the seventh-ranked Chargers ended the first half of league play in position to contend for the league title.
With Phair (15 kills) and sophomore Lindsey Sparks (13 kills) leading the way, the Chargers rallied to defeat host Newport Harbor, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12, on Wednesday night.
“We know each other really well and what each other can and can not do,” Phair said. “If someone is having a difficult time passing, we’ll shade over and help them out. We’re really supportive of each other. It is a competitive environment, but it is one where we’re pushing everyone to be better.”
The Chargers (15-8, 4-1) needed that attitude after dropping two of the first three sets. In the fourth, Edison scored 10 consecutive points to take a 16-8 lead. Newport Harbor never got closer than four points the remainder of the set.
The fifth set saw multiple momentum swings. Newport Harbor scored the first four points, followed by Edison scoring five consecutive points.
The Chargers took a 12-7 lead on a kill from Phair. Newport Harbor pulled within 12-11 on a block by Amanda Walker, but Edison eventually prevailed.
“It could have been a big logjam for second place, but it was good to finish 4-1 and get in position to do well in the second half of league,” Edison coach Matt Skolnik said. “We needed to stay aggressive. Newport is a really good defensive team and we needed to keep going at them, serve tough and attack aggressively.”
Remy Wilson led the Sailors (8-14, 2-3) with 17 kills.
Also in the Sunset League:
No. 3 Huntington Beach 3, Fountain Valley: Camryn Sanchez led the visiting Oilers (21-4, 5-0) with nine kills in the 25-16, 25-12, 25-11 victory. The Oilers didn’t lose a set through their first half of league matches.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
