Sage storms to opening sweep

Halfway through the match, the Sage Hill School girls volleyball

team, with senior outside hitter Cat Dailey leading the way, was

cruising in its season opener against host Calvary Chapel. Then

Dailey fell hard to the floor after landing awkwardly on her right

ankle and sat on the bench the rest of the game with an ice pack

around her ankle. The Lightning were no longer in cruise control, but

it still had enough to sweep the Eagles, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20, on

Thursday night in a nonleague match.

The Calvary Chapel gymnasium went silent when Dailey fell to the

floor with a loud thud and tears ensued midway through game two. But

she appears to have escaped with just a sprained ankle, which is good

news for Sage Hill fans.

“I think she’ll be OK in a few days,” Sage Hill Coach Dan

Thomassen said.

Dailey, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter who has verbally committed to UC

Berkeley, had nine kills, a block and an ace at the time of her

departure. She left the match with her team trailing 7-5 in the

second game.

After a bit of sloppy play after Dailey’s departure, the Lightning

got back on track. The team took its first lead, 13-12, on an errant Eagles hit, and never looked back. Three consecutive aces by Vista

Murphy gave the Lightning an 18-13 lead before the team cruised to a

25-16 win.

“I was proud of the team for not getting too flustered after

Dailey’s injury,” Thomassen said. “This is an experienced group,

they’ve played together for a few years.”

Middle blocker Haywood Wright gave Sage Hill a 4-1 lead in the

third game with two kills and a block. But Calvary Chapel showed some

fight and stormed back to take a 17-14 lead, putting Sage Hill’s

chances for a sweep in jeopardy. An ace by Lightning setter Kelsey

Lawler and an Olivia Fankuchen kill off a pass from Lawler tied the

game 17-17.

After falling behind 20-19 on an ace by Calvary Chapel’s Becca

Lusk, Sage Hill rang off six straight points, capped off by Murphy’s

sixth kill of the match to clinch the sweep.

“It’s a big difference without Dailey in there, we had to spread

the ball around more,” Thomassen said. “But Lawler controlled the

match well and made some good choices with her sets. However, without

Dailey in there, we probably struggled the most with our serving and

passing.”

Dailey had seven kills in the first game. Consecutive kills by

Dailey and Murphy gave the Lightning a 15-6 lead and the team was off

to the races. A kill by middle blocker Haywood Wright off of a

reverse set by Lawler highlighted Sage Hill’s run to close out the

first game.

Thomassen was happy with what he saw in his team’s season-opener

-- for the most part.

“Not bad, but we have a lot to work on,” he said. “Our serving was

less consistent than I expected. We just have to keep improving.”

Thomassen also raved about the play of freshman middle blocker

Tierney Danner, who looks like she’ll be able to contribute on the

varsity level right away.

“She played really well,” Thomassen said.