The Sage Hill Boys Varsity Volleyball team opened up their 2012 season on March 2nd against a strong Irvine High School team ranked 7th in CIF-SS Div. II. The Lightning, who traveled to Irvine with a pre-season ranking of 9th in CIF-SS Div. IV, dropped the match in three games 11-25, 24-26, 20-25 but proved they can play well against strong competition. After a slow start in game one, Sage had Irvine on the ropes 15-24 but just could not close out game two. Returning Academy League MVP junior Kent Kawaguchi lead Sage with 16 assists while also adding 2 aces and 6 kills to an impressive night’s work. Four year varsity player senior Chris Zadra contributed 11 kills and freshman Jack Burghi had 3 kills in his first varsity game. Nicky Boulos had a strong game with 7 digs and Creagan Lydon was an imposing presence as a middle blocker. Sage is expecting big contributions this year from sophomore Eric Zhang (who saw time last year on varsity towards the end of the season), as well as new Sage student and former baseball player- turned volleyball player junior Kyle Jaffe. Rounding out the team, sophomore Cameron Hall will give Sage depth at the middle blocker position, and senior Ash Khayami and sophomore Sam Masarik will certainly bring athletic versatility to a relatively young Lighting squad. Sage will take on University High School on March 3rd in their home opener.