Schools
Four more inches, please
Lighthouse Christian Academy hiccuped on its fourth game, a loss to Hillcrest Christian School.
By Michael Ashcraft --
Everyday, before class gets underway with academics, Allie Scribner asks for prayer to grow four more inches -- to be an even more competitive volleyballer.
Those four inches would have come in handy on Tuesday. Hillcrest Christian School, with taller girls, deployed effective blocking to stymie Lighthouse Christian Academy's spiking game.
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Lighthouse lost in five sets: 25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 16-25, 9-15.
The girls huddled in prayer after their first loss in four games so far this season.
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"Lighthouse was so good at digging the ball that it got in our heads ," admits Hillcrest Coach Michael Westphal, commenting on a battled, drawn-out victory that required the full five games to liquidate.
Lighthouse employs a dynamic style of play that culminates in spiking even when it starts with some of the most mind-boggling digs. It's a team effort that has steamrolled so far this season.
To knockdown the LCA powerhouse, Hillcrest put to good use its mostly taller players. About one-third of the spikes fell back to Lighthouse, which mostly couldn't pop back up to keep in play.
"Our blockers were great," Coach Michael says. "They forced them to hit high and long."
Yeah, four inches more. And not just for Allie.
Hillcrest also did a good job of responding to LCA's evolving strategies.
"They were reading our plays," LCA Coach Jessica Young says.
Lighthouse began brightly, which was unaccustomed because LCA seems to take time to find its rhythm. With punishing serves and quick spikes, LCA led and won game 1.
If the Santa Monica team eased off the accelerator thinking they would continue an inexorable procession to domination, Hillcrest showed it had some fight, winning game 2.
In game 3, the Lighthouse laid hold its mental strenght and feisty fighting spirit to put Hillcrest in its place.
In game 4, Lighthouse wilted.
"I think the girls got tired," says Coach Jessica. "Our girls played really well. They gave everything they could give. I think we just got tired. And there's not much we can do about that because we're in pretty good shape."
Read about LCA's other games:
Michael Ashcraft teaches journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academy in Santa Monica.
