Sage returns to finals

CALABASAS — The Sage Hill School girls’ volleyball team found enough momentum to pull off a 25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 15-10 victory at top-seeded Viewpoint in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA semifinals Tuesday.

Freshman Halland McKenna had 22 kills to lead Sage Hill (22-6) to the final, which will be against rival St. Margaret’s.

The teams split during Academy League play with each team winning on the road, and they shared the league championship.

“They’ve been our rival as long as I can remember,” Lightning Coach Dan Thomassen said. “Our girls wouldn’t want it any other way. It should be a good atmosphere. Both teams know each other well.”

Thomassen said the Lightning cruised in the first two sets, but needed to find extra energy after dropping the next two.

Senior middle blocker Zoe Kreitenberg had 18 kills and four blocks and setter Maddy Abbott had 40 assists.

“There were a lot of big momentum swings,” Thomassen said. “We won the first two and we were cruising. The third and fourth were really close. Our girls just gathered themselves in the beginning of Game 5 and everyone stepped up and got the momentum back.”

Sage Hill, the No. 4 seed, returns to the final for the first time since 2005, when it beat St. Margaret’s for its first CIF title in the school’s history.

— From staff reports