Girls’ Volleyball: Sage Hill on top again

FULLERTON — Lightning has struck three times in four years for the Sage Hill School girls’ volleyball team at the CIF Southern Section finals.

Sage Hill won the Division 3AA title on Saturday, defeating archrival St. Margaret’s, 25-12, 26-28, 25-22, 25-16, at Fullerton College, giving the Lightning three section titles in four seasons.

The key to the Lightning dynasty are three players and one man. Coach Dan Thomassen has guided Halland McKenna, Kekai Whitford and Maddy Abbott for four years, and magic is what they produce on the court.

The run began three years ago, when McKenna, Whitford and Abbott were freshmen. They won a Division 4AA title in their first year together, topping St. Margaret’s. The trio faced St. Margaret’s again the following year in the Division 3A final, unable to repeat as champions because of St. Margaret’s. The two private schools missed each other last year, when Sage Hill claimed the Division 3A title against Crean Lutheran.

It’s fitting that McKenna, Whitford and Abbott met St. Margaret’s once more for a section championship. The trio delivered, Abbott, a setter, feeding McKenna and Whitford, and the two outside hitters hammered away at the Tartans all night.

Abbott amassed 53 assists, and McKenna finished with 22 kills and Whitford totaled 16 kills. McKenna, Whitford and Abbott also performed on the defensive end, finishing with 19, 15 and 10 digs, respectively. They led top-seeded Sage Hill (23-3) past No. 3 St. Margaret’s (26-4) for the third time this year. The other two wins against the Tartans came in Academy League action, vaulting Sage Hill to its first undefeated league crown.

Sage Hill topped that achievement by winning back-to-back section titles for the first time in its 15-year history. Pulling it off by beating St. Margaret’s makes it that much sweeter for the Lightning.

“It’s great,” said Thomassen, who guided Sage Hill past St. Margaret’s for the third time in a section final, giving his program four section championships.

“Getting to know [McKenna, Whitford and Abbott] and what they’ve done for four years, I’m not surprised [at their success] because they worked harder this year than any other year, and they needed to.”

The only teams to knock off St. Margaret’s this year were Division 3AA champion Sage Hill and Division 3A champion Saddleback Valley Christian. Sage Hill’s three setbacks came in September, in a season opener at Los Angeles Windward, which lost to Palm Springs in the Division 2A final on Saturday, at Santa Margarita, and at the Dave Mohs Memorial Tournament against Lakewood, the No. 2 seed in the Division 1AA playoffs.

When it came down to the big prize, two Academy League schools squared off for a section championship for the fifth straight year. Three of them have involved Sage Hill up against St. Margaret’s.

With two familiar teams, the opening set was tight at the start. Then Lina Aluzri went to work for Sage Hill with her serve. The junior created problems for the Tartans, dropping three aces during a 9-0 Lightning run. The spurt also featured a block by middle blocker Sophia Mossman and kills by McKenna, who’s bound for Stanford, and outside hitter Jade Blevins, putting Sage Hill up, 13-6.

Blevins, a freshman, played at a high level in the first set, recording four of her 18 kills. McKenna led everyone in Game 1 with five kills, including the clincher. Abbott kept finding Sage Hill’s hitter, collecting 11 assists in the first set. Abbott didn’t shy away from getting in the kill action, dumping two for points, and she finished with five kills on the night.

Abbott, bound for Michigan, also got the Lightning rolling at the start of Game 2, serving up two of her four service winners. The aces were the fifth and sixth for Sage Hill in the match and they continued to pile up for the Lightning, Aluzri adding her fourth ace to give Sage Hill a 17-13 lead in the second set.

The Tartans, who went without an ace in the first set, found someone to serve strong late in Game 2. Peighton McRobie rallied St. Margaret’s, coming up with three aces, one to tie the set at 22-22, and the next one to give the Tartans a 23-22 lead.

The programs went back and forth down the stretch in Game 2, Sage Hill tying it three times with St. Margaret’s at set point. With another set point chance, their fourth, the Tartans evened the match at 1-1 when McKenna hit the ball long.

The third set proved to be pretty even. The score was tied 10 times. No side could gain momentum, until McKenna delivered an ace to break a 16-16 tie. She recorded another ace, her third, right after the Tartans were called for a rotation violation. Sage Hill led, 20-16, for the second consecutive set, and this time it didn’t allow St. Margaret’s to roar back.

Whitford, bound for Loyola Marymount, registered her fifth kill in Game 3, and then the Tartans fell apart. Two players allowed a ball to fall right in front of them, followed by one getting called for a net violation. Sage Hill took the third set, 25-22, and a 2-1 lead.

One more set and Sage Hill was going to cap an incredible four-year run in section finals. St. Margaret’s couldn’t stop the Lightning, but it tried with Emily Miller (19 kills, 12 digs) and McRobie (nine kills, 11 digs). It wasn’t enough for the Tartans, who made their 13th section finals appearance.

Abbott jumpstarted Sage Hill in Game 4 with two aces, helping her team take a 6-0 lead. The strong serving reappeared late, when Sahar Rohani, a libero who finished with 17 digs, clinched the section title for Sage Hill with an ace.

The season is not over quite yet for the Lightning. The CIF State Southern California Regional Division III playoffs start on Tuesday.

“There are great teams in Division III from San Diego and Northern California,” said Thomassen, who guided Sage Hill to the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III final last year for the first time. “Every win from here on out is going to be something extremely special.”