Newport Harbor and Los Alamitos to settle score in final

When Los Alamitos defeated Newport Harbor on Oct. 29 to pull into a first-place tie with the Sailors, it set up the scenario that has played out between the two teams.

The five-game victory earned the Griffins (30-7) a share of the Sunset League title and boosted them in the division rankings, where they earned the No. 2 seed behind Newport Harbor (27-6), which won the tiebreaker and received the top seed when the CIF-SS Division I-AA draws were announced.

Now they meet in the championship match Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cypress College in Gym 2.

“Newport Harbor and us have been 1-2 all year,” Los Alamitos coach Dave Huber said. “It’s only fitting we play a third time.”

Newport Harbor struck the first blow this season, defeating Los Alamitos in four games at home. The Griffins were O.C.’s top-ranked team at the time and hadn’t lost to a county team until then.

It was also the first match all season the Griffins played without junior outside hitter Jane Croson, who was out with an abdominal injury.

She returned in time for the Griffins to play host to Newport Harbor, where the Griffins won in five games to hand the Sailors there first league loss.

“It was a great match both times,” Newport Harbor coach Dan Glenn said. “Obviously the first time didn't they didn’t have Jane in our gym, but we played well. The second time we had opportunities and we had some momentum, but once they got it, it was tough to stop in the fifth game.”

Los Alamitos hasn’t lost since the Sailors beat them, and enter the match on an 11-game winning streak. That loss was the third in a row for the Griffins, who fell to Dos Pueblos and Long Beach Wilson prior.

The struggles are well behind and Los Alamitos has plenty of confidence after defeating Mira Costa on the road in the semifinals.

“We have had some tough losses,” Huber said. “We haven't hung our heads. We look at the bigger picture. We’ve seen it all and we’re not surprised by anything. We are going to keep working at this point.”

Newport Harbor’s play has been steady this season. The team only lost consecutive matches once, to Dos Pueblos and La Costa Canyon.

“I’m excited for my team,” Glenn said. “They’ve worked real hard to put themselves in this position.”