By Michael Ashcraft --
When Lighthouse was losing 16-21 against Highland Hall, Coach Jessica Young, a registered nurse, went into the Emergency Room.
"Pressure is good for you," she told the girls in the time-out huddle. "If you perform under pressure, you can save lives."
The flashback to her ER days motivated the team, unbeaten in league for three years, to top the Hawks even when the Northridge team was on the cusp of winning at 22-24.
Euphoria was ripping through the Highland Hall gymnasium as the momentum seemingly was carrying them to achieve what no other Omega League team has managed in three years, to win at least a single set.
Sorry. The game ended 25-24.
Jessica's daughter, junior Lucy Young, blocked a hit to clinch the set.
A key to the victory, as always, was senior setter Shayla Papik, who never gets nervous.
She doesn't stay calm in the storm. She brings the storm.
"I have to stay calm as a setter because if I start freaking out and getting anxious, they I start messing up," Shayla says. "I stay calm and make sure I do what I'm supposed to do perfecting each set. I have a lot of practice, so my mood doesn't really affect my hands."
As a student at a Christian school, she also credits God with keeping her in peace.
"I trust in the Lord," she says. "Having my confidence NOT in myself, having my team help me is very helpful. Also having another setter get my back when I need it."
Related content: Walking dead against Hillcrest, Goofy-footed against Newbury Park, Unwelcome against Glendale Adventist.
About this writer: Michael Ashcraft teaches writing and journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academyof Santa Monica.
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