Sage Hill sweeps Crean Lutheran

The gym was packed at Sage Hill School to see the Lightning girls’ volleyball team in an important Academy League match Friday night.

The Sage Hill fans were loud and gave the Lightning a strong lift in the first set, Coach Dan Thomassen said.

The home volleyball team didn’t disappoint its fans, as Sage Hill swept Crean Lutheran, 25-13, 25-22, 25-23.

The Lightning, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 3-A, played near perfect in the first set and found ways to win in the second and third sets against the No. 3-ranked Saints, Thomassen said.

Junior outside hitter Kekai Whitford had 17 kills and 16 digs and junior outside hitter Halland McKenna added 13 kills and 13 digs to lead the way for Sage Hill (14-4, 4-0 in league), which is 5-0 at home this season.

Senior middle blocker Juliette Singarella had seven kills and two blocks and junior setter Maddy Abbott amassed 34 assists for the Lightning.

“It was great,” Thomassen said of Sage Hill’s start. “We just jumped on them in the first game. They clawed their way back. Games two and three were really tight but we just found a way to scrape our way to the win. The games were exciting. There were long rallies. The crowd got really into it.”

Thomassen didn’t necessarily think the Lightning could sweep Crean Lutheran.

“I knew the games would be close,” Thomassen said. “I was a little surprised that we pushed them around the first game. But I’m not super surprised about the sweep ... We got a lot of momentum early. It was great to get a big win in front of a big crowd. They beat us in our house last year so it was nice to get this one back.”

Sage Hill returns to Academy League action Thursday, when it plays at rival St. Margaret’s at 5:30 p.m. The Tartans are ranked No. 7 in Division 3-A.

— From staff reports