Lightning storm to title

sage hill volleball wins cifSage Hill puts it all together at the right time to sweep awayAcademy League rival St. Margaret’s. CYPRESS -- The way Cat Dailey was constantly taking commanding swings at the ball during Saturday morning’s CIF Southern Section Division IV-A girls’ volleyball championship match against St. Margaret’s, one couldn’t help but wonder about the condition of her right arm.

But after Dailey and her Sage Hill School teammates emerged with a 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 victory to capture the young school’s first-ever CIF title, she insisted her arm wasn’t too raw.

“Not too much,” said Dailey, who had a match-high 24 kills. “I’m used to it. It might be a little sore tomorrow, but it’s worth it. I mean, this is unreal. We have now raised the bar for the school’s athletic programs.”

Sage Hill, the No. 1 seed in Division IV-A, and No. 2-seed St. Margaret’s shared the Academy League title after splitting a pair of league matches. Both of the previous meetings went five games.

When Sage Hill defeated St. Margaret’s for the first time ever on Nov. 1, it won the first two games, relaxed a bit, and then dropped the next two before pulling it together in time to win game five. Dailey had 20 kills in that match.

Saturday, Dailey and the Lightning never let up. The Cal-bound standout reached 20 kills early in the third game. If this match went five games, her arm might have fallen off. But Dailey saw to it that it only went three.

After dropping the first game, St. Margaret’s (24-9) came out on fire in game two. The Tartans had leads of 7-4, 13-12 and 23-21. Callan Smith led the Tartans’ charge with seven kills in the game.

But Dailey was not to be outdone. She tallied 11 kills in the game -- and some well-timed tips.

A kill by senior Haywood Wright and a well-placed tip by Dailey tied the score at 23-23. An ace by MacKenzie Bronk gave Sage Hill the lead. When St. Margaret’s failed to return Vista Murphy’s overhand smash from the middle of the court, Sage Hill boasted a 2-0 lead in games.

“I thought we served real tough and we played smart,” Dailey said. “We tipped when we knew it would drop.”

Sage Hill seemed to weather the storm in the second game and went into game three with a head of steam.

The Lightning never trailed after Wright’s kill off a back set from Kelsey Lawler tied the game at 14. Five of Sage Hill’s last 10 points came from kills by Dailey. Blocks for points by Wright, Dailey and Olivia Fankuchen stymied the Tartans’ outside hitters.

“We’ve never put it all together like this before,” Dailey said. “We played our best match at the right time.”

Murphy and Wright added five kills each for Sage Hill (27-8). Murphy added two aces.

“I’m just feeling ecstatic,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t be happier -- this is amazing.”

After the match, Sage Hill Coach Dan Thomassen was basking in the glory of bringing home the first-ever CIF title in the school’s sixth year of existence.

“It’s a little bit surreal,” he said. “To talk about it is one thing. To actually come through and do it is another.”

Both Sage Hill and St. Margaret’s move on to the CIF State Division IV championship tournament.

Sage Hill will open with a home match on Tuesday night against an opponent to be determined. If the Lightning win two matches, they move to the Southern California Regional championship Nov. 29.

The state final is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Saddleback College.200511201J1L576QNo Caption20051120iq8a6aknPHOTOS BY DANIEL CARAPELLOTTI /