In preparation for the start of the season, the Newport Harbor girls volleyball team traveled to Hawaii to participate in a summer tournament.
Tinkering with the lineup, Coach Dan Glenn had returning senior middle blocker Katey Thompson – a first-team all-county selection as a junior – sitting on the bench to begin the match. Glenn is known for mixing up his lineup based on the matchups he likes, and, after Newport Harbor fell behind 9-1, he found something out that day.
“I needed Katey on the court as long as possible,” said Glenn, who is in his 24th season with the team. “She was the leader. We started every game after that the same way no matter the situation, with Katey at left front. I’ve never done that before.”
For her performance this season, Thompson is the Register’s girls volleyball Player of the Year.
Newport Harbor finished the season tied for the Sunset League title, before claiming the CIF-SS Division I-AA crown and the CIF State Division I trophy, the school’s first since 1999. Thompson recorded a team-high 14 kills in the state championship match against Salinas.
That stat came on the heels of a flawless effort in the team’s semifinal five-game upset against Dos Pueblos of Goleta on the road to reach the finals. In that match, Thompson posted a season-high 25 kills without a hitting error.
“I’m competitive, and basically in a big match, your team expects more of you,” Thompson said. “I need to step up.”
Competition is second-nature for Thompson. The second oldest of five sisters, everything growing up was sports-oriented.
“You just can’t lose,” she said. “If you do, you have to do chores.”
Imagine how mad she was when she didn’t make the final cut during seventh-grade volleyball tryouts. Instead of being deterred, her desire grew to make the team the next year, which she did.
Glenn saw Thompson’s competitive spirit when she made varsity as a sophomore. The team had two middle blockers that were more advanced than Thompson, but that wouldn’t stop her from going at them in practice.
County coaches noticed Thompson’s attitude and what she brings to the Newport Harbor lineup as well. Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti’s team lost to the Sailors in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs, a match in which Thompson had a team-high 14 kills.
“She’s the best leader, she’s the best winner in the county,” Pazanti said.
Thompson will attend UC Santa Barbara next fall, where she’ll be part of the Gauchos program. It’s also Glenn’s the alma mater.
“The campus is beautiful,” Thompson said. “They have a great beach program. It felt right. I don’t know what I would do without sports. I’ll be playing more volleyball throughout the year, and then just keep going for college.”
Two years ago Thompson was part of a devastating loss to Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the semifinals of the sectional playoffs. The Sailors led two games to none against the top-ranked team in the nation and were leading 20-17 in Game 3 before falling in five games. It was the hardest loss of Thompson’s career and kept the Sailors from the state playoffs. Last season, Newport Harbor was swept in the quarterfinals by Long Beach Wilson.
Heading into this season, Thompson felt the team was talented enough to contend for the state title, and now that it’s accomplished, she doesn’t believe it’s over.
“It was the dream season,” she said. “Dos Pueblos was my favorite game. I still haven’t realized we are done. It feels like a break. I’m not sure when it will hit me.”
