Sage Hill enjoys a good night

Sage Hills' Emily Lassiter, center, and Sage Hills' Sophia Mossman celebrate their CIF Division 3A Championship over Crean Lutheran Saturday at Cerritos College.
Sage Hills' Kekai Whitford puts the ball past Crean Lutheran's Abby Allen, left, and Grace Dimond during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship match at Cerritos College.
Sage Hills' Maddy Abbott, left, and Sophia Mossman try to block Crean Lutheran's Abby Allen during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship match at Cerritos College.
Sage Hills' Kekai Whitford reacts to her team's win in the CIF Division 3A Championship over Crean Lutheran Saturday at Cerritos College.
Sage Hills' Juliette Singarella, left, and Kekai Whitford celebrate their CIF Division 3A Championship over Crean Lutheran Saturday at Cerritos College.
Sage Hills' Juliette Singarella, left, and Sage Hills' Giordana Ricci get up to block Crean Lutheran's Grace Dimond during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship match at Cerritos College.
Crean Lutheran's Annie Carrillo goes down for the dig during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship against Sage Hill match at Cerritos College.
Crean Lutheran's Brook Rigoni puts the ball past Sage Hills' Kekai Whitford during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship match at Cerritos College.
Crean Lutheran's Kaila Wondergem, left, and Kaila Scheevel try to block Sage Hills' Sophia Mossman during Saturday's CIF-SS Division 3A Championship match at Cerritos College.

By Charles Pannunzio | Orange County Register

November 23, 2013 at 10:49 p.m.

NORWALK – Sage Hill girls volleyball coach Dan Thomassen acknowledged a little disbelief after his team swept Crean Lutheran in three games in the CIF-SS Division 3A girls volleyball final at Cerritos College on Saturday night.

“I knew our girls were going to be good tonight, but I didn’t know we were going to be this good,” said Thomassen. “We had so many girls that either played very good or absolutely awesome. Everyone had a great week of practice. I’ve got to give it to our seniors.”

The Lightning (26-5) continued its run of 3-0 matches through the playoffs, winning the title, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17.

The teams had split their two regular-season meetings in the Academy League and tied for the league title.

Crean Lutheran won a five-set match at the end of October, after the Lightning had swept the Saints three weeks before.

In the opening set Saturday, Sage Hill was paced by Lina Aluzri’s service run that turned an 8-4 lead into a 16-4 advantage.

Crean Lutheran (21-7) closed the set strong, getting as close as 22-18, before the Lightning picked up the last two points on kills by Kekai Whitford with Halland McKenna at the service line.

The second set was tighter, as the Saints closed a 7-1 gap to forge a 14-all tie on a Brook Rigoni ace, and took a 16-14 lead with the senior still serving.

Neither team took more than a two-point lead until Sage Hill broke a 21-all tie on a Whitford kill, then collecting the final three points on Allie Mowrey’s serve to take the 25-21 win.

The third set was also close in the early going, and was last tied at 8-all before the Lightning pulled away.

“It seemed like every time they made a run , we responded,” said Thomassen.

“I think both teams played real hard, but I think (Sage Hill) executed a little bit better tonight,” said Crean Lutheran coach Eric Olson. “It always comes down to serving and passing, and tonight they won that battle a little bit.”

Whitford led Sage Hill with 16 kills while McKenna recorded 14. Maddy Abbott had 41 assists.

Kaila Scheevel and Katie Kyckelhahn had six kills each for Crean Lutheran, with Cassie Roberts recording 24 assists.