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2008
By ERIC BACA
Valley Press Staff Writer
Just in case anybody was worried that they were satisfied, the Knights added one more feat to their season's worth of accolades: a playoff victory.
Desert Christian defeated visiting San Gabriel Academy, 27-25, 25-17, 25-10, winning its opening round match of the Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs Tuesday.
The win sets up Desert Christian to play Connelly, the San Joaquin League's No. 1, Thursday in the second round of the playoffs.
"Now that we have won this game, I feel like we can go all the way," senior Kellie Keefauver said. "We were a little tense when we first came out because we didn't know too much about San Gabriel (Academy). But once we scored the first five points, I felt pretty good."
The Knights (13-5) weren't hurting for momentum entering the match with the Eagles (11-7-2). Just four days prior, Desert Christian stormed back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat Lucerne Valley for its first league title in six years.
In that same contest, though, senior Brianna Bloemendaal stretched her left ACL, leaving the Knights with a potential void heading into this week.
Enter Marisa Heyne.
Taking Bloemendaal's place at the outside, Heyne rocked 10 kills, second only to Keefauver's 15.
"She looked into the face of fear and spit in its eye," Knights coach Turhan Douglas said. "In my opinion, she's the epitome of courage. She knows what's at stake."
Heyne provided the clinching point in the first set, bringing an end to the most contentious of the frames. Heyne added an ace as well in the first set.
"I think we can go far," Heyne said. "We just have to work on not making mistakes. That's about it. We're a really good team, we work together a lot and we really came together."
After releasing any remnants of postseason nerves, the Knights set out to have a little fun in the third set.
A 11-7 Knights' advantage quickly ballooned to 17-7 off the strong serves of Holly Beuder.
The 10-point swing also featured two aces by Beuder.
An ace by Chelsea Maag, followed by two kills by Lindsey Karlis set up match point for the Knights, which they quickly earned when the Eagles' Mayling Seto returned her offering into the net.
"I am like a dog or a horse," Douglas said. "I could sense that they were nervous. We all agreed that we needed to loosen up. We were just real tense in the beginning.
One set before Beuder's consistent run, Bloemendaal served seven consecutive times, including four aces, which padded the Knights lead to 18-11.
Bloemendaal, who played sparingly against the Eagles, said that the pain she feels in her left knee nowhere compares what she would feel being reduced to a spectator.
"It's harder to sit out" Bloemendaal said. "For me, it was really humbling to sit on the bench and watch what a good team I am playing with. It was really good to see everyone gelling together and see strengths that hadn't been there before."
According to Bloemendaal, she lets Douglas know how hard she is able to go.
"She wants to be out there more than anybody," Bloemendaal said. "I really respect what she's doing. She's so tough."
Despite not having one of its most vocal leaders in the frontline, Douglas was encouraged by his team's ability to make an overnight change to lineup.
"It just shows the character of the girls we have," Douglas said. "They're stepping up even when their leader is down. They're just showing a lot of heart. I couldn't be prouder."
