Sage Hill’s inaugural alumni match a hit

For a private high school that’s only being around since 2000, Sage Hill School has built quite the girls’ volleyball program.

The school has won four CIF Southern Section titles, including three in the last four years. Many key players off those championship teams returned to Sage Hill on Thursday for the inaugural Sage Hill alumni girls’ volleyball match.

The former players went up against the current Lightning players. The youngsters faced some former teammates, Kekai Whitford, Halland McKenna and Maddy Abbott, who led Sage Hill to its best run in school history, four section finals appearances in as many years, before graduating this past school year.

It took the three and the rest of the veterans a set to shake off the rust, but in the final two sets the Sage Hill veterans turned it on to win the match, 21-25, 25-12, 25-17.

Dan Thomassen, Sage Hill’s coach, put together the event via social media. Before going into his 12th season in charge of the Lightning, Thomassen said it was important to establish an alumni match to bring the new and old players together for some competition and fun.

“We’ve been talking about it for a couple of months and I just put out an announcement a few weeks ago on our Facebook page,” Thomassen said. “We got out a great alumni turnout and a good crowd for a July [event]. I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t expect it to be this [high] level of volleyball. To see a lot of parents from the last 12 years, it’s amazing.”

After the best-of-three match, Sage Hill held a reception for the players, their parents, and faculty members in the Gordon Community Room. Sage Hill President Gordon McNeill, an avid supporter of Sage Hill athletics, showed up for the alumni match, sitting on the top row. He has been at the school since 2001 and has seen all of the former players who took the court compete before.

Three members who helped Sage Hill in 2005 produce the school’s first CIF Southern Section title in any sport impressed McNeill 10 years later. Vista Murphy, Kelsey Lawler and Tierney Danner, members of the Division IVA title, took part in the alumni match. The three played well, despite Murphy having graduated in 2006, Lawler in 2007 and Danner in 2009.

“Vista Murphy, you know, for being the oldest of the crew is still in great shape,” Thomassen said of his former outside hitter who went on to play libero at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., contributing to the school’s NCAA Division III title in 2008.

Lawler, who played libero for a couple of years at Hamilton University, an NCAA Division III program in Clinton, N.Y., said she was a little nervous facing such young and talented players. She sure didn’t show it, using a Hamilton Rugby T-shirt as her jersey.

“I haven’t played in a long time,” Lawler said after she jokingly told Thomassen that the only reason she showed up for the alumni match was for the free Sage Hill sweatshirt. “It was so fun to be back. The energy is just amazing. I can’t believe how many people were in the stands [during] the summer, not even [for] a real game.

“It’s just incredible to see what Dan’s done with the program and the legacy that has been built. It’s just really a fun thing to be a part of.”

Other notables who competed were 2012 graduate Zoe Kreitenberg, a middle blocker during Sage Hill’s CIF Southern Section Division 4AA winning team in 2011, and opposite Sophie Gordon and libero Claudia Noto, both 2014 graduates who won a Division 4AA crown in 2011 and a Division 3A crown in 2013.

The three girls to claim three section championships, the most while at Sage Hill, and reach the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III finale twice were Abbott, a setter, McKenna, an outside hitter, and Whitford, an outside hitter. They were able to participate in the alumni match before they reported to their respective college volleyball programs next week, Abbott is heading to the University of Michigan, McKenna to Stanford University and Whitford to Loyola Marymount University.

Whitford took control of the second set late. She dropped five straight services aces. After the third ace, McKenna’s father, Danny, yelled “About time!” from the stands.

Whitford, who will be a libero in college, just smiled. She and Abbott also marveled at the older players.

“They’re all in such good shape,” Whitford said.

“I hope I’m that volleyball savvy when I’m [their age],” Abbott said.

McKenna wished the current group of Lightning players the best. McKenna, Sage Hill’s career leader in kills with 1,522, didn’t take it easy on the Lightning. Last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 3AA Player of the Year hammered a couple of shots before McKenna becomes a libero at Stanford.

Thomassen said Sage Hill played without three key incoming seniors, Isabel Shapiro, Natalie Moshayedi and Desiree Moshayedi, and returning libero Sahar Rohani, a future junior, because they were on vacation or visiting colleges. Incoming seniors Lina Aluzri, a libero, and Giordana Ricci, an outside hitter and defensive specialist, led the way for Sage Hill.

Future junior outside hitter Jamie Dailey turned in a solid performance. Dailey is the younger sister of Cat Dailey, who shared the CIF Southern Section Division IV Player of the Year award in 2005.

“I think there were a lot of questions coming into this summer, just because, you know, outside of libero we really don’t have anyone that’s coming back in the same position,” said Thomassen, who last season led Sage Hill to its fifth Academy League title, its first outright championship in the program’s history. “That’s six girls in new spots. Jade [Blevins] was our opposite last year [as a freshman]. She’s going to be running the show as the setter. She’s very mature for a sophomore and a very experienced setter. The team is in good hands with her running the show.”

Thomassen has scheduled tough nonleague opponents again. Sage Hill is at the Dave Mohs Championships on Sept. 11-12, and it plays host to Santa Margarita on Sept. 15, travels to Laguna Beach on Oct. 5, is at home against Los Angeles Windward, a section runner-up the last three years, on Oct. 12, and plays at Mater Dei, the Division 1AA runner-up, on Oct. 14.

“I think Mater Dei and Santa Margarita are going to be two of the best teams in [Orange County],” said Thomassen, whose team swept Mater Dei and lost in five sets to Santa Margarita en route to a 25-4 overall record last season. “We’re going to have to grow a lot between now and then to hang with them and have a shot with them.

“I think the league is up for grabs this year. If we keep growing the way we’re growing, we’re going to be right there in the hunt again and maybe make a run at [a fifth consecutive] CIF [Southern Section finals appearance].”