Sage Hill turns up aces

NEWPORT COAST — Lined up on the opposite side of the net at Sage Hill School were members of the Whitney High girls’ volleyball program.

The Lightning just watched. The Wildcats dropped to their knees, ready for the pre-match activities. All in sync, they slammed their hands on the court, but the Wildcats forgot at times during the match to hit the ball.

Nineteen times during serves Sage Hill recorded aces, so many aces that a blackjack player, with a jack or queen, would be proud.

The next hit always seemed to be an ace. The Lightning scored big, sweeping their Academy League opener, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20, Tuesday night.

They needed a victory. The Lightning (3-9) started the year with what Coach Dan Thomassen called the “most difficult preseason schedule ever” in the school’s history.

Playing programs like University, ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division II-AA, Calvary Chapel Murrieta, No. 1 in Division IV-A, and Capistrano Valley now looks like a smart move. The Lightning executed at a high level Tuesday.

Filled with depth, Thomassen saw a balanced attack against Whitney, which dropped its 11th straight league match dating back to last season. First-year coach Ole Nervik still smiled at the end, despite seeing his team fall to 0-2 in league.

“We know we’re playing a better team here,” said Nervik as senior outsider hitter Colleen Heyler celebrated what she described as a team effort, the kind she was used to seeing two years ago as a member of Sage Hill’s section championship team.

Heyler played solid, finishing with four kills and four aces, as did sophomore Lindsey Kish, who led the team with five aces and five kills. At the beginning of the year, the two hitters dealt with nagging injuries, Heyler a hand and Kish a knee.

For a couple of stretches, Kish didn’t have to worry much about moving. Back-to-back aces to close out the first game, and in the second game, she blasted three straight aces. One of those traveled so fast that by the time Whitney’s Melanie Concalves lifted her hands the ball was being retrieved.

Once the ball got back to Kish’s hands, Whitney stood no chance, even though Sage Hill is still without 6-foot middle blocker Tierney Danner, who will be eligible to return next Tuesday. Danner transferred to Mater Dei, then returned to Sage Hill last fall after a brief stint, and because of CIF transfer rules, she had to sit out a year of volleyball.

The junior will be back at a good time with Sage Hill playing at defending league champ Oxford Academy, which will put up more of a fight than Whitney. During Thomassen’s four years, the coach said the Lighting have won nine straight against Whitney.

Still, Whitney in Game 3 fought back from a 17-4 deficit. During Whitney’s roll, where Thomassen experimented with players at different positions, Sage Hill found itself up, 22-20. No timeout called.

Play through, with Thomassen hoping what his players learned competing against stiff competition would bail them out.

It did.

Sage Hill scored the final three points, the last an ace by junior Katharine Bukaty, to record the sweep and force the Wildcats to line up again near the net, but this time to slap goodbyes.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].