Dan Thomassen

Three area boys’ volleyball teams are all entering the CIF Southern Section playoffs as top representatives from their respective leagues. Newport Harbor High, the No. 1 team in CIF Division I, will play host to JSerra, the at-large representative from the Trinity League, Friday at 7 p.m. The Sailors (27-3), who went undefeated in the Sunset League, will attempt to make it to the top after losing in the second round of the playoffs last season and exiting in the first round in 2006.

Chemistry is something boys' volleyball coach Dan Thomassen teaches in the classroom at Sage Hill School. Bayle Smith knows this. He's in Thomassen's chemistry class. It's there that he learns about protons and electrons, but chemistry on the volleyball court is something less tangible. Smith has indeed helped the Sage Hill School boys' volleyball team with chemistry, but his favorite subject on court has to be physics, the way he slams the ball down at such speeds that gravity alone can't explain.

Hometown: Irvine Born: Aug. 19, 1990 Height: 6-1 Weight: 145 pounds Sport: Volleyball Coach: Dan Thomassen Favorite food: "Chronic Tacos" Favorite movie: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" Favorite athletic moment: "Probably in club, when we went to the Junior Olympics when I was in 14s [in 2005]. We got third." Week in review: Had a team-high 19 kills as Sage Hill defeated Chadwick in five games on May 18, helping the Lightning advance to the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals for just the second time in the program's history.

GIRLS' GOLF Newport Harbor 231, Estancia 291 SANTA ANA - Junior Tera Hanna shot five-over-par 41 to earn medalist honors for the host Sailors in the nonleague match Wednesday. Charlotte Skjonsby (46), Lauren Willard (47), Amelia Thomas (48) and Kate Lamas (49) also scored for the Tars (2-1). * GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL JSerra def. Sage Hill SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Senior middle blocker Zoe Kreitenberg recorded 10 kills and hit .500, but JSerra won the season opener, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 25-14, on Wednesday.

CdM, Sailors, Lightning face second-round foes Newport-Mesa boys' volleyball teams from Corona del Mar High, Newport Harbor and Sage Hill hope postseason victory is sweeter the second time around, as all three play second-round matches tonight at 7 in their respective CIF Southern Section playoff divisions. Top-seeded CdM (29-2), trounced Santa Ana Friday at home, posting a 25-6, 25-17, 25-10 win that was the most dominant in the division. Coach Steve Conti's Sea Kings play host to Hemet, which needed four games to get past Villa Park in the first round.

BURBANK — The last time the Sage Hill School boys' volleyball team was in the second round of the playoffs, the Lightning didn't strike. But they made sure they would in Tuesday's CIF Southern Section Division V second-round match at Providence of Burbank. Bayle Smith and Joey Booth each recorded 14 kills to lead Sage Hill to a 25-23, 16-25, 25-19, 25-21 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004, when it made the semifinals. The Lightning (15-7)

Matt Jameson, a former four-year starter for the Newport Harbor High boys basketball team, returned to a gym filled with many memories and tallied 18 points to lead his team to a 57-47 victory in the fourth annual Newport Harbor alumni basketball tournament July 24 on the Sailors' campus. Jameson (Class of 1999), who went on to play point guard at Miami University of Ohio, teamed with brother Todd Jameson ('93), Mark McAnlis ('93), Bob Torribio ('95)

Sage Hill School junior outside hitter Bayle Smith has been named Academy League Co-MVP in boys’ volleyball after leading the Lightning to their first 10-0 undefeated league championship season. Smith shares the honor with Brethren Christian senior Ben Hammond. Smith, a repeat first-team member, led Sage Hill with 192 kills, 41 service aces and 27 blocks. Sage Hill Coach Dan Thomassen earned the league’s Coach of the Year award after leading the Lightning (20-10)

CORONA DEL MAR — The Sage Hill School boys' volleyball team needs to play with more energy and cut down on its service errors, Coach Dan Thomassen said after his Lightning won Tuesday. Despite 21 service errors, Sage Hill (11-14) defeated Bolsa Grande 25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 25-14, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs at Harbor Day School. The Lightning played at the Harbor Day gym because their venue is under construction. "I don't think the service errors were because of a change of venue," Thomassen said.

athlete-week-cat-daileyLightning senior is the most dominant player on what many believe is the best team in Sage Hill's history.Cat Dailey used to swing for the fences. Now the 6-foot-1 senior swings to get kills for Sage Hill School's girls' volleyball team. Dailey played softball as a freshman at Sage Hill before choosing to concentrate on volleyball -- a sport she was new to. Dailey picked it up in a flash. "Everyone who has seen her play since she was a freshman is amazed at how much she has improved since then," Sage Hill Coach Dan Thomassen said.