Sage rallies, falls at St. Margaret’s

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Both coaches said the match, the atmosphere and the expectations may have been too much for either team at this point in the season.

But the latest rendition of the storied girls’ volleyball rivalry between Sage Hill School and host St. Margaret’s showed just why those elements continually circulate around any court that features the two Academy League powers.

St. Margaret’s, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section 3AA Division, outlasted top-ranked and defending section champion Sage Hill, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 24-26, 15-13, Tuesday. But there is sure to be more to come for the Tartans (10-4, 2-0 in league) and Lightning (1-6, 0-1), and the stakes will likely only get bigger.

“I like where we are as a team,” said Sage Coach Dan Thomassen, after his team dug deep to force a fifth set, then erased Tartans leads of 12-9 and 13-12 to create deuce in the deciding game. “Everyone on our team knows we are four or five weeks away from being a really solid team, and we’ll be even better after that. So, we’re still getting better fast, and that’s a good sign.”

In addition to competing relentlessly, typified most often by dogged defense, the Lightning were best at serving and feeding the powerful right arm of junior outside hitter Jamie Dailey.

Dailey finished with 20 kills and also contributed three of her team’s 17 aces.

Senior tri-captain Giordana Ricci and sophomore setter Jade Blevins had four aces apiece, while freshman outside hitter Amiyah De’Long chipped in three to help the visitors overcome inconsistent offensive flow, particularly when Dailey rotated to the back row.

Senior libero and tri-captain Lina Aluzri, junior middle blocker Emily Lassiter and junior Sahar Rohani also contributed aces for Sage, for which Aluzri was ubiquitous on defense.

Aluzri had a team-best 24 digs, while Blevins amassed 46 assists for the Lightning, which swept St. Margaret’s last season, including two league showdowns and the CIF 3AA Division final.

“I think it was a high-intensity match with two evenly matched teams and a lot of emotions,” Tartans Coach Joaquin Acosta said. “I told the girls that whoever could manage the emotions would probably come out on top. I don’t know if either team managed them very well, but it’s early in the season and [the win] is a good stepping stone for us. We have players in roles they’ve never played and this is experience for them. It was a big match for us.”

Thomassen also said his team, which won three section titles in four title-match appearances during the four-year tenure of departed 2015 graduates Kekai Whitford (Loyola Marymount), Maddie Abbott (Michigan) and Halland McKenna (Stanford), showed its lack of experience in the whirlwind of revelry generated by boisterous St. Margaret’s student rooters.

“I’m encouraged by the fight,” Thomassen said. “I think we were sloppy the whole match. We started off sloppy and we got a little better [in the third and fourth sets]. But I think we played below the level at which we have been practicing. We gritted and found a way to get to 13-all in the fifth set, but they had a good, tough, quick serve at the end that caught us off guard.”

Thomassen said he was pleased by his players’ aggressiveness, particularly from the service line and he delivered primary praise to Dailey and Aluzri.

De’Long had seven of her 12 kills in the final two sets — including three in the fifth — that indicated she may be more of a factor in future meetings.

Freshman middle blocker Sydnee Francis (four kills and two block assists), also got her first taste of the rivalry, while Lassiter had three block assists and one solo stuff to go with her two kills.

“Lina played great, Dailey had a lot of big swings and Amiyah had some big swings late in the match,” Thomassen said. “We have a couple girls at new spots and we just have to figure out how to fix a few holes on the court.”

Senior outside hitter Gabrielle Benck had a match-high 24 kills to pace St. Margaret’s, for which freshmen Gracyn Benck and sophomore Annie Eales had 10 kills apiece.