Sage downed in four

Steve Virgen

It has been a groundbreaking season for the Sage Hill School boys

volleyball team, but before the Lightning could take it one step

further, they ran into another obstacle, which came in the form of

Pasadena Poly.

The top-seeded Panthers (22-0), led by junior Phillip Rosenberg,

ended Sage Hill’s historic season with an 18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 victory in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division V

playoffs.

The Lightning (18-2), which made its first appearance in the CIF

Division V playoffs this season, let an 18-13 lead in the fourth game

slip away. Pasadena Poly came up with timely digs and patiently

whittled away at Sage Hill, which was led by senior Kevin Joyce and

his 23 kills. Rosenberg had a match-high 35 kills.

“We were right there,” Lightning Coach Merja Connolly-Freund said.

“Poly just dug everything.

“Overall I’m happy with the season. To make it to the CIF Division

V semifinals is a big step. It’s breaking new ground for Sage Hill. I

think our program had a great growth spurt this season.”

The Lightning showed great maturity in the first game. They

appeared to be the ones who had been there, done that, as the

Panthers came out shaky. Sage Hill broke away from a 14-14 tie with a 6-1 run, as senior setter Julian Smith-Newman and senior Max

Frederick teamed up for two kills in the spurt.

Pasadena Poly also committed errors late in the first game, a sign

it was nervous and tense, Panthers Coach Troy Frystak said.

“The first game we were tight,” he said. “[The Lightning] took

advantage. We just needed to relax. We also needed to serve away from

Kevin Joyce, because he was their best passer. That started to work

for us.”

The Panthers rallied back in the second game and grabbed the

momentum. Pasadena Poly closed out the game with a 9-1 run, breaking

away from a 16-16 tie.

Rosenberg appeared close to dominant in the third game, when he

collected nine kills and led his team to a pivotal victory. The 6-0

junior outside hitter led his team’s comeback in the fourth game,

recording 11 kills.

Winston Mi, the Panthers’ setter, amassed 44 assists. Smith-Newman

dished out 41 assists, while Frederick added 17 kills.

“[Rosenberg] was a great player,” Connolly-Freund said. “He made

the difference. We couldn’t stop him.” Rosenberg tallied seven kills,

as the Panthers overcame the 18-13 deficit, and outscored Sage Hill,

12-4, down the stretch.

“We ended with a loss, but this year was really great and

competitive for us,” said Joyce, who has been on the team since its

first varsity year, 2001-02. “We got better as the year went on. The

last game we played was probably our best, but they just got it

done.”

Joyce, who plans to walk on at USC next year, experienced a losing

and trying season his sophomore year, but the Lightning improved his

junior season, just missing the playoffs. But Sage Hill made the leap

this season, by winning a share of the Academy League championship

and then making a run to the semifinals of the CIF Division V

playoffs.

“It was a ball,” Joyce said of the season. “I had a great time. We

did not win that much that second year. Last year we just barely

missed the playoffs. So it was fun to get here this season.”

Joyce led the Lightning in Wednesday night’s match. Sage Hill took

the first game and a strong showing of Lightning fans cheered for

their volleyball players. However, the tide turned in the second game

and the Panthers rode the momentum to the victory.

“We had too many errors in the second and third games,”

Connolly-Freund said. “Poly outplayed us on defense in games one and

four. We gave them the momentum. We also stopped being aggressive

mentally.”