Setter holds keys for Sage

NEWPORT COAST — The setter on the volleyball court is the quarterback, a position Coach Dan Thomassen expects a lot out of at Sage Hill School.

Every coach does because the setter is vital to the offense, making sure the ball never hits the floor. Just up.

“We want the setter to be authoritative,” Thomassen said. “Just to be a vocal leader.”

The challenge has hit Hanalynn Hunt’s fingertips. Easy right? Just like the ball coming down before setting it up for someone else to finish it off.

So far Thomassen likes what he sees in the sophomore. The real test for Hunt will come Sept. 11, when the Lightning open the season at Calvary Chapel of Murrieta.

Until then, Hunt will continue to work on directing the ball to the right spots on the floor. If she can come close to what Kelsey Lawler did for Sage Hill the past four years as the setter, Thomassen envisions a successful year.

The expectations are high, not as high as last year, when the Lightning received a No. 1 ranking in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA before the season. Thomassen still shakes his head at the ranking, calling it nothing more than just a number based the previous year’s section crown.

The Lightning didn’t finish on top at the end of the year, like in 2005. Sage Hill went 10-17, 6-4 in the Academy League, only good enough for third place, far from the top.

The rankings now will be ignored.

The focus in on building on last year, which included a first-round playoff exit. Five starters return — senior outside hitter Colleen Heyler, senior libero Mackenzie Bronk, sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Kish, junior middle blocker Katharine Bukaty and sophomore outside hitter Madison Gordon-Lavaee.

Heyler was a first-team all-league selection last year, and Kish was made the second team.

There’s also a familiar face off that 2005 championship team. Not Lawler, the All-CIF player, graduated and Thomassen said she’s at Hamilton College in New York.

The player’s name is Tierney Danner and Thomassen said the middle blocker came back to Sage Hill last fall after a brief stint at Mater Dei. But she has to wait until Oct. 9, which will mark one year from the time she transferred, before she can compete because of CIF transfer rules.

“She transferred as a sophomore during the volleyball season. Then she came back after a little more than a month [at Mater Dei],” said Thomassen, entering his fourth year. “She wanted to try a different school and she decided to come back. I was a little surprised. We’re just glad she’s back.

“We’ll wait for her return, but we’ve got quite a few players who can step in and do the job.”

It will be Hunt’s job to set them up in the meantime.