Sage Hill rallies fall short on road

CALABASAS — The kills from Matt Talamantes and Julian Nagendran were overpowering at times — and for good reason.

For the Viewpoint High senior outside hitter and middle blocker, respectively, Wednesday night’s CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match represented a chance to get one step closer to defending the Patriots’ back-to-back CIF titles.

On the other side of the net was Sage Hill School, a program that’s still trying to get to that point and has just one senior, Luke Droulez. Faced with the daunting task of beating the top-seeded Patriots on the road, the Lightning fought gamely.

But Viewpoint’s experience shone through late in each game, when the Patriots (29-6) won most of the big points to produce a 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 sweep that ends the season of the Lightning (16-8).

No tears after the match for Sage Hill, however. Not with their entire starting lineup coming back next year. That includes sophomore Bayle Smith, who had a team-high 12 kills, and freshman Joey Booth, who had nine.

Freshman Mattias Russo-Larsson had 16 digs, sophomore Michael Bear tallied 21 assists and junior Carl Hillgren had two blocks.

“I knew from the beginning of the year that we were capable of making a deep run into the playoffs,” Sage Hill Coach Dan Thomassen said. “They got better, just as I expected … They’re walking off without hanging their heads. They know they put up a great effort.”

Especially in the first game, when the Lightning led for much of the game and, even after falling behind, pulled within 21-20 on Smith’s service ace.

But, after a timeout, Viewpoint scored four straight points to take the game, ending it on two kills from Nagendran (eight total). Matt Talamantes, the reigning Division V Player of the Year who also sets for Viewpoint, led the Patriots with 19 kills.

His father, Patriots Coach Mike Talamantes, knows how dangerous Sage Hill can be.

It was in the elder Talamantes’ first year coaching, in 2004, that Sage Hill upset Viewpoint in the Division V quarterfinals.

“That was a crushing defeat,” Mike Talamantes said. “I didn’t know if I’d have my job back the next year.”

So the Patriots studied and studied for this year’s encounter. Mike Talamantes said Viewpoint watched tape on Sage Hill for a week and a half.

“We knew that they were really good defensively,” he said. “They weren’t going to go away. That’s going to be a really tough team next year, because they’re so young. I think if they’d had a couple of seniors with that experience, you’d have seen this match go five.”

Sage didn’t go away in Game 2, even after falling behind 13-4. The Lightning pulled within 20-15 on Hillgren’s kill, and 23-17 on a kill by Booth, but couldn’t get closer.

Viewpoint again stormed out to a lead in Game 3, at 15-7. Sage Hill pulled within one twice, but again couldn’t find any momentum to get closer.

“We missed our [serve] targets,” Thomassen said. “That was one of our keys to success, and it was inconsistent. Most of them were near-misses. That happens, but you’ve got to hit the target in matches like this.”

After the match, Thomassen had a long talk just outside the gym with his players.

But as they walked back in, spirits seemed to be high. Even on a team that was two matches away from winning CIF, the future seems to be even brighter for the Lightning.

“I’m extremely proud of these guys,” Thomassen said. “It’s one of the most gratifying seasons coaching that I’ve had, and I’ve had a lot of gratifying seasons.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or [email protected].