Sage gets the boot

Sage Hill also fell behind 6-2 in the third set but found a way to come back against No. 4-seeded Arrowhead Christian, even getting two set points, at 24-23 and 25-24, before ultimately falling.

“That was one of the most impressive things about the match for me,” said Thomassen, who also said he saw the ball hit the ground on match point. “Our guys put themselves in a position to win that third [set] after a really bad start, and a bad first two [sets]. We just chipped away and played some of our best volleyball of the season.”

Russo-Larsson had 12 kills, 10 digs and three aces for Sage Hill (17-10). Freshman Kent Kawaguchi added five kills and nine digs, and senior setter Jesse Xiao dished up 33 assists. But the Lightning couldn’t finish in that third set.

Long Beach State-bound Will Quanstrom led Arrowhead Christian (21-6) with 23 kills and five blocks.

“He’s our leader in digs, leader in blocks, leader in kills,” Allen said. “If he was setting he’d be our leader in assists.”

The Lightning would have felt better if they didn’t feel the Eagles got an assist from the referees.

But the mood had switched a bit to celebratory after the match. And the future looks bright as Sage will lose just three players — Russo-Larsson, Xiao and senior defensive specialist Trent Friedmann — for next year.

“We went out not playing our best match, but playing as hard as we possibly could,” Thomassen said.