Elsa from Frozen in Lighthouse volleyball

By Caleb Campos –

She came to Lighthouse because she was losing her faith in God amid myriad family problems. She struggled to acclimate to the rigorous academics. She was taken in, even sharing Thanksgiving Dinner with a teacher.

On Thursday, Abigail Aguilar was given the chance to show what she has become. She hit the floor on behalf of the A-team players of the volleyball team to help Lighthouse Christian Academy ease to victory over Hillcrest Christian High School at Penmar Park.

“I was nervous. I just went and locked in and tried to give it my all for God,” said Abby, a junior. “I came to Lighthouse when I was going through hard times. I drifted away from God. The first semester of freshman year was really hard for me; I was going through some personal stuff with my family. By second semester it was getting easier. From that point, I opened up to the teachers and saw life from a different perspective.”

She joined the team in her sophomore year but didn’t see much court play because a lot of the players are hot items from Club Volleyball.

“I’ve never been part of a team. Going on the court made me feel like I was seen. I’ve never been a part of a community, so coming to Lighthouse brought opportunities and meeting new people. I really love this school.”

That’s what Lighthouse does. It builds people.

Oh, and by the way, LCA won in three sets: 25:4, 25-20, 25-10.

For anyone who thinks winning is everything, this article contends that helping kids, even those who might be teetering on the edge of dropping out of productive society, helping kids discover they have a purpose and can do great things in life, that’s everything.

Something special happened through sports for Abby. She only got two bumps on the ball and played through about 25 plays, mostly in the second set.

Abby identifies with Elsa, who made a mistake and marched off to be alone, not able to forgive herself. She felt bad for making mistakes in practice, even maybe a little intimidated among so many highly competitive girls. But she didn’t give up. She kept at it.

On Thursday, with two bumps on the ball, Abby became part of the finely-tuned and first-team efficient machine that shreds opponents. The privilege to play was transformative.

Personal wins in students’ lives outweigh the school wins.

School wins, ultimately, will be relegated to dust-collecting plaque somewhere on a wall in the halls of LCA. Abby will take her wins with her for the rest of her life.

"We're super proud of her for getting in there; it's very nerve-wracking," said Assistant Coach Lauren Jenkins. "She was in the right positions and did her best. She's building confidence and trusting in God. Being part of time makes you feel connected."

Here’s how the game went down. Coach Jessica Young had scolded the team for their sloppy serves and bumping into each other on Tuesday’s game against Beacon Hill, which they still won without breaking a too much of a sweat.

Browbeaten but not crestfallen, the girls wanted to do good by coach. Their serves were axe throws. Their hits sledge-hammered through the floor boards. They executed seamlessly like DNA replicates in the cell.

Don’t blink or you’ll miss the action.

Set 1 ran like fast forward. It ended 25-4.

This was Hillcrest of Thousand Oaks, Lighthouse’s erstwhile nemesis. But LCA’s football team had just played Hillcrest’s boys last Friday and got — um, how should we say? – clobbered 0 to some big unmentionable score.

In that game, Hillcrest did something neither Hillcrest nor Lighthouse ever did before: they had mercy. With 3 minutes left in the game and plenty of opportunity to make ANOTHER touchdown, they relented. They took a knee and punted.

For 10 years previous, whether football, volleyball or basketball, whichever team held the upper hand ran up the score in revenge for previous losses. That rivalry ended last Friday.

So the Lighthouse girls returned the favor. They relented. They didn’t crush their rivals. They threw on Abby and another second-string player, Keziah Mendez, a junior, who was also thrilled to get some play time.

LCA didn’t show the same ferocity as Game 1, in which they were reassuring Coach that they wouldn’t let her down with lazy play.

Throughout, sharp-shooter Shayla Papik was spiking and serving gunshots. Team captain Allie Scribner, as always, was the Indianapolis engine driving the team. She gave Hillcrest a headache with aces, sets and hits.

The high-leaping Dahlia Gonzalez was again light of foot and heavy of hand with thunderous hits. Lighthouse fans call her Dollywood after the country singer, as in, “Welcome to Dollywood!” She’s a decimator.

Her little sister, freshman Riley Gonzalez, not the most towering figure at 5'2", also got two kills. Fellow freshman Lucy Young bedeviled Hillcrest with her serves. Jill Jenkins was again a whirlwind of action all over the floor. Senior Liyat Belay launched some absolute rocket serves. Karine Keyser was a force for hitting and blocking.

Read more about LCA volleyball: the Jill Chills (Game 1). Sharp shooter Shayla (Game 2), No return policy (Game 3)
About this reporter: Caleb Campos wrote this as an assignment for his journalism class at Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica.