Local trio faces semifinals

Barry Faulkner

The Sage Hill School girls volleyball team is making history in

Division IV-A, while Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar hope

recent history repeats tonight.

All three local programs will compete in the CIF Southern Section

semifinals in their respective divisions, beginning at 7.

Sage Hill (16-6), with two playoff wins already under its belt to

triple the total the program produced in its previous two-year

varsity history, plays host to top-seeded Western Christian.

Corona del Mar (24-5), the No. 1 seed in Division III-A, plays

host to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

The Sea Kings swept the Knights, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18, in last

year’s Division III-A semifinals to advance to a title match won by

Bishop Montgomery.

Newport Harbor (15-12) visits No. 3-seeded Edison in a Division

II-AA rematch of last year’s dramatic five-game Sailor semifinal

triumph in the same division. The Sailors were then beaten by Mira

Costa in the title match.

Victories tonight would not only advance teams to section finals,

they would produce automatic qualifying berths for the CIF State

championships.

“We’re one win away from the state tournament,” said Newport

Harbor Coach Dan Glenn, whose visiting Sailors upset No. 2-seeded El

Dorado, 20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-11, in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

“Edison has all its kids back from last year, but so did El Dorado

[which the Tars also knocked off in the 2003 quarterfinals]. We know

[tonight] is going to be a tough match.”

CdM, champion of the Pacific Coast League, has swept playoff foes

San Dimas and Santa Ynez, the latter on the road in Saturday’s

quarterfinals, to set up its rematch with Notre Dame.

Sage Hill, meanwhile, finds itself in uncharted territory.

“The last match we won I thought was the biggest win for me and

the team,” Lightning Coach Dan Thomassen said after Saturday’s 26-24,

25-17, 14-25, 19-25, 18-16 upset of No. 4-seeded Chadwick. “That was

until this one [Saturday].”

The Sea Kings are led by senior returning All-CIF performers

Jordan Smith (bound for UCLA), Breana Ogden (bound for San Diego) and

Lindsey Ensign.

The team has six senior starters bent on winning the program’s

first section crown since 1997.

Newport Harbor is paced by senior captain Kiley Hall (a team-high

19 kills Saturday), but has received valuable contributions from a

handful of others.

Newport last won a section crown in 2002.

Sage Hill, about which preseason predictions talked more of a

promising 2005 campaign than this fall, is fueled by junior outside

hitter Cat Dailey and fellow co-captain Vista Murphy.

A CdM win would create a potential final showdown against either

No. 2-seeded Louisville or No. 3-seeded Nipomo.

The other Division II-AA semifinal pits top-seeded Mater Dei

against Huntington Beach.

If Sage Hill can advance, it would meet either No. 2-seeded St.

Margaret’s or No. 3-seeded Brentwood.

The section finals are Nov. 19 and 20 at Cypress College, with

specifics still to be announced.