Telepeer

Sage Hill volleyball back in CIF-SS finals with sweep of Crean Lutheran

May 11, 2025

Jackson Cryst (20) of Sage Hill slams the ball over the net as Crean Lutheran tries to block during the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 4 boys volleyball playoffs, May 10, 2025, at Sage Hill High.
(Photo by Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer)

1 of 16

Expand

NEWPORT BEACH — There was no stopping outside hitter Jackson Cryst and the Sage Hill volleyball team in their CIF-SS Division 4 semifinal against Crean Lutheran on Saturday at Sage Hill High School.

Cryst was nearly unstoppable, finishing with 19 kills, in helping the Lightning come away with a 25-21, 26-24, 25-18 sweep of the Saints.

The berth in the division finals is the second in a row for the for the Lightning (17-11) but the first under first-year head coach Jordan Hoppe.

Sage Hill captured the 2024 Division 5 championship with a five-set victory over San Marino under coach Shelby Young.

“I just think hats off to the athletic department and the coaches and the players,” Hoppe said. “Just kind of understanding that this is my first year, guys kind of need to buy into the system. And we have guys coming in a little bit later in the season and preseason. I even got the job a little bit later. So, I didn’t have a lot of time with the guys to really develop and form the culture that we’re forming.”

Sage Hill will face Santa Barbara (20-10) in the championship match on Friday or Saturday, May 16-17, at a location to be announced.

Cryst, who is committed to Long Beach State, joined the team late because he was busy with the Lightning basketball team that reached the CIF-SS 3AA championship game.

“Yeah, I was deep in CIF with basketball,” Cryst said. “So, I jumped in super late. There was a lot of adversity and I think now we are actually pushing towards our peak in volleyball, which is exactly where you want to be.”

The Lightning came out fast and built a 15-8 lead and then increased it to 20-10.

The Saints (16-13) closed the gap significantly, going on an 11-5 run, mostly because of hitting errors by the Lightning.

But the Saints still came up short.

The second set was the key set for the Saints, who came from behind to tie the score twice and then took a 23-22 lead.

A kill from Logan Erickson gave Crean Lutheran 24-23 lead but the Saints couldn’t get the winning point that would have tied the match.

Instead, the Lightning scored the final three points to win the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

“Yeah, that was a pivotal moment for sure,” Crean Lutheran coach Justin Elder said. “I mean, if we could have tied up the score, I think we would have helped out our attitudes a little bit. We would have felt a little bit more confident and I think dropping that second set after having set point was tough.”

The tough loss in the second set seemed to have an effect on the Saints in the third set.

Sage Hill had leads of 9-4, 15-11, 18-12 and then 20-13.

Ryan Manesh, who had 13 kills for Sage Hill, had the final kill to finish off the set and the match for the Lightning.

Micah Yee and Logan Erickson had 12 and 8 kills, respectively. for the Saints.

Sage Hill volleyball back in CIF-SS finals with sweep of Crean Lutheran Orange County Register

News Details

Sage Hill volleyball back in CIF-SS finals with sweep of Crean Lutheran

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS