Dan Thomassen

The Lightning stumble briefly, but win to reach their first CIF title match in girls' volleyballNEWPORT COAST -- The month of November seems to have brought a magic touch to the Sage Hill School girls' volleyball team. In less than seven days, Sage has four postseason victories, including a 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 25-16 win over Viewpoint in a CIF-Southern Section Division IV-A semifinal match Tuesday. The victory sent the Lightning to their first CIF Southern Section championship match.

The Lightning and Tartans square off in their rubber match today in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A championship match.The Sage Hill School girls' volleyball team will meet a familiar foe when it takes the court for the school's first-ever CIF Southern Section championship match appearance. Sage Hill, the No. 1 seed in CIF's Division IV-A, and No. 2-seed St. Margaret's, which shared the Academy League title with the Lightning after splitting a pair of league matches, will meet a third time today at Cypress College at 10 a.m. to determine the CIF Division IV-A champion.

all cif selections polo, volleySage Hill volleyball standout is Co-Player of the Year, while several Newport and CdM water polo players are awarded.Sage Hill School senior volleyball standout Cat Dailey was selected the CIF Southern Section Division IV Co-Player of the Year, while her coach, Dan Thomassen was named the Co-Coach of the Year, highlighting girls' volleyball and boys' water polo All-CIF selections released Monday. Newport Harbor's boys' water polo team had three All-CIF Division I first-team selections, and Corona del Mar had two first-team selections to spotlight the Newport-Mesa area water polo standouts.

CALABASAS - The Sage Hill School girls' volleyball team found enough momentum to pull off a 25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 15-10 victory at top-seeded Viewpoint in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA semifinals Tuesday. Freshman Halland McKenna had 22 kills to lead Sage Hill (22-6) to the final, which will be against rival St. Margaret's. The teams split during Academy League play with each team winning on the road, and they shared the league championship. "They've been our rival as long as I can remember," Lightning Coach Dan Thomassen said.

FIELD HOCKEY Otay Ranch Tournament CHULA VISTA - Newport Harbor High beat Valley Center, 1-0, to win the championship Saturday. Senior captain Allie Pantoskey scored for the Sailors. Senior goalkeeper Andie Ward had nine saves throughout three wins. Emily Mitchell, Madison Wooters, Sophie Evans, and Courtney McIntosh were key players throughout the day. Newport Harbor beat Bonita Vista, 2-0, in the semifinals. Senior Annie Pyle and junior Taury Hlinka scored.

Chris Yemma NEWPORT COAST -- For the Sage Hill School girls volleyball team, it's not how many lives a cat has, it's how many kills. Standing 6-foot, Lightning outside hitter and co-captain Cat Dailey had a match-high 16 kills as she led her team to a 25-8, 25-13, 28-26 sweep of visiting Junipero Serra Friday. Dailey also led her team with four aces, one that she nailed near the end of the third game to help keep it a three-game match. But for Dailey, it was just daily routine.

Three standout seniors return to the Sage Hill School girls volleyball team, giving Coach Dan Thomassen all he could ask for. Seniors Cat Dailey, Haywood Wright and last year's co-captain, Vista Murphy, were the Sage Hill kill leaders in the 2004 season. Last season, the team finished 17-7 and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A semifinals. Dailey, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter who has been heavily recruited, is the school's first Division I scholarship athlete, having verbally committed to UC Berkeley.

The Sage Hill School boys’ and girls’ athletic programs have been placed on probation for two years after the CIF Southern Section discovered a lack of administrative oversight last spring involving the boys’ volleyball team. Boys’ Athletic Director J.R. Tolver said the boys’ volleyball program’s decision to withdraw from the CIF Southern California Division III Regional Championship opening-round match on June 2 at Francis Parker of San Diego forced the section to put Sage Hill on probation.

Newport Harbor's Carey and Sage Hill's Dailey made it official by signing on the dotted line.Sage Hill School girls' volleyball star Cat Dailey, who verbally committed to Cal in May, signed a National Letter of Intent with the Golden Bears on Wednesday morning, Lightning coach Dan Thomassen confirmed. Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period for all sports except football, soccer, boys' water polo and field hockey. Dailey, a senior outside hitter for Sage Hill, is a two-time Daily Pilot Dream Team selection.

Steve Conti and Steve Astor had their boys' volleyball teams trading blows in the Battle of the Bay Friday night. The coaches spent Saturday night together, watching another big match in Los Angeles: the NCAA Championship, UC Irvine vs. USC. This upcoming week, they'll begin the quest to guide their teams to the biggest match in their respective divisions of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. They learned their pairings Saturday morning. Sage Hill School, the Academy League champion, also made the playoffs.