Lightning out after sweep

LOS ANGELES — One setter on the volleyball court sported a high-top fade haircut, like one of the members of the hip-hop team of Kid ‘N Play.

Erwin Ramirez definitely toyed with Sage Hill School Wednesday night, setting up Los Angeles Salesian’s array of big hitters.

When Ramirez distributed the ball to Bernard Luna or Cameron Walker, his hairdo never moved on the court. It seemed the Lightning stayed still as well whenever Luna or Walker blasted shots.

The No. 2-seeded Mustangs proved to be too powerful, sweeping Sage Hill, 25-16, 25-16, 25-23, and advancing to their third straight CIF Southern Section Division V championship.

Sage Hill’s run at its first title appearance in the boys’ program’s history finished in a little more than an hour’s time. The drive back for the Lightning (19-13) to Newport Coast probably lasted just as long.

“It’s tough,” said Coach Dan Thomassen, who guided the Lightning to their second semifinal match in three years. “On the road against a team of this caliber, you have to play a near perfect match. We weren’t quite there.”

Salesian (31-6) is closing in on perfect volleyball, one more to go.

Perfection for the Mustangs will be finally getting over the hump in a championship match. Salesian won’t have to face Viewpoint of Calabasas in Saturday’s final at Cypress College.

Sage Hill’s rival, top-seeded St. Margaret’s, advanced to the title after sweeping La Canada Flintridge Prep Wednesday.

“These young men, many of them returned from last year, and their big complaint was they’re tired of losing in that final [match],” Coach Elliott Walker said of the Mustangs, who dropped the past two titles to Viewpoint. “We’re looking forward to going to CIF finals and do the same thing [we did in the semis] at CIF finals, and then off to CIF State.”

The Mustangs are on a mission.

They came out firing in the first two games. Identical intensity resulted in identical scores.

Ramirez kept Salesian’s offence balanced, finishing with 35 assists. Luna led everyone with 22 kills, Walker contributed 18 kills, Jean Paul Lopez had eight. The three attacked from all over, raising havoc.

The three also created problems for Sage Hill’s offense.

Hurting the Lightning as well was not having senior Harlan Webster (ankle) at 100 percent.

At times this season, Thomassen has referred to outside hitter Bayle Smith as Sage Hill’s one-man band. The senior couldn’t quite do it himself, playing for the final time in high school on the road.

Smith finished with 18 kills. Almost half of those recorded in the final game in which the Lightning put up a fight.

“That was one of our best of the year,” Thomassen said of Game 3, which featured 12 ties, a major improvement for Sage Hill after only being even with Salesian twice in the first two games.

“If you had told me [we would reach the] CIF semifinals at the beginning of the year, I would’ve been pretty happy. Somewhere along the way we knew we had a shot at the championship, but we had to be on the road in the semis against a team that’s been in the finals the last two years, and barely lost last year, a tough draw.”

No kidding.