Sage’s great season ends in regional semis

The tone in Dan Thomassen’s voice had a mix of disappointment and content during a phone interview Saturday night.

The Sage Hill School girls’ volleyball coach was disappointed that the Lightning lost at La Jolla Country Day to end the year. But there was content with a historic season and a CIF section title.

La Jolla Country Day (32-8), the top seed and defending champion, won the CIF Southern California Regional semifinal match, 25-17, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18.

However, Thomassen couldn’t help but be pleased with the season and a strong effort Saturday night.

“We were down, 24-16, in the second game, but Maggie Danner came and served for 10 straight points,” Thomassen said. “We got a lot of momentum but we weren’t able to keep it and carry it over.”

Danner finished with six kills and seven service aces. Senior Zoe Kreitenberg led Sage Hill (27-6) with 14 kills and setter Maddy Abbott had 23 assists.

“It was a fantastic season,” Thomassen said. “We are graduating some seniors who were so key for us. Zoe Kreitenberg, Nathasha Sakraney and Alayna Lewis. It really was a great season.”

The Lightning won a share of the Academy League title and went on to win the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA crown, the second CIF championship in program history.

Sage Hill also grabbed its first state playoff victory Tuesday when it beat Viewpoint in four sets.

— Steve Virgen