Sage sweeps Chadwick

NEWPORT COAST — The last time Sage Hill School played host to Chadwick in the playoffs, the opposing coach from the school in Palos Verdes Peninsula talked a lot afterward.

Michael Cass said very little after Friday night’s CIF Southern Section Division V quarterfinal match.

Cass walked off the volleyball court visibly upset. What transpired on the floor was a first in the usual postseason battles between these two boys’ programs the past four years.

No team had beaten the other so badly in a quarterfinal match.

The Lightning changed that, sweeping the No. 3-seeded Dolphins, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23, and advancing to the semifinals for the second time in three years. Sage Hill got payback after getting ousted at home by Chadwick last year in a thrilling five-game match.

The Lightning this time had no reason to worry about returning the last serve. When they failed to last year, Chadwick clinched the match on a service ace.

This year, Chadwick’s server was called for stepping over the line. No fourth game, over in three games.

Done so fast Cass was left with few words for his team and anyone nearby.

“I’m sorry, I’m just really mad right now. I don’t want to talk,” Cass said.

“We played lousy. They played good.”

The Lightning competed how they were expected to last season in the playoffs. Their title run that year ended too soon.

Sage Hill (19-12) continues on, next a semifinal date Wednesday at No. 2-seeded Salesian of Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Bayle Smith, as the outside hitter has done all season, led the Lightning with 17 kills to go with three blocks.

This isn’t the same Sage Hill team of a year ago. Two key starters lost off that one because they decided to leave the program as juniors.

Sage Hill lost another starter Monday by accident.

Middle blocker Harlan Webster tweaked his ankle in practice. Somehow the Lightning inserted freshman Cole Kirby and managed to excel without one of their senior captains.

Three other seniors raised their level of play, starting with Michael Bear. The setter found others to contribute, feeding opposite Alex Lowe and middle blocker Tucker Pettis for shots.

Bear finished with 25 assists and eight digs. Earlier in the year, he sat out the nonleague match at Chadwick with a broken wrist. The March 10 match played out like the previous matches against their rival, ending in the decisive fifth game. The Dolphins took it.

Since Bear’s return, the Lightning have been tough to beat at home. When Chadwick led Game 1 by seven early on and later, 17-11, Bear kept the attack balanced.

The Dolphins (16-5) zoned in on Smith, so Bear went to guys named Lowe and Pettis. The two recorded kills during Sage Hill’s 12-6 run, which tied the game at 23-23.

After that, Bear went to the player he can always count on.

“When we need a point, I go to Bayle,” Bear said. “Not having Harlan play was a huge motivation for us. We didn’t want this to be the last game, where he had to watch. We want him to play his last game.

“We had big expectations last year and to get knocked out [in five games was] pretty devastating. We made a point to get back to [the quarterfinals] this year.”

The Lightning did and they quieted Chadwick.