Flower power

By Michael Ashcraft --

Don't get her mad. You won't want to see her mad.

"I don't like getting blocked," said Dahlia Gonzalez, LCA's hot hitter. "Especially when they chant. Oh. That just strikes a nerve. I'm like, Oh you think you can block me? We'll see about that. I'm going to slam this ball in your face."

A dahlia is a flower. But there wasn't much pretty, feminine and romantic to Dahlia in Thursday's win over Beacon Hill.

Forget the flower. Dahlia got mad and turned into the Hulk.

As Beacon Hill mustered credible blocking to stymie Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica, Dahlia targeted the line. "They weren't able to get the line every time I hit the line," she said.

Lighthouse won its eighth straight game Thursday, but Beacon Hill Classical Academy of Camarillo reconfigured its strategy to present Lighthouse with their stiffest test so far. The Gryphons did damage mostly with their serves and blocks, but also with some hits and dumps.

It took the Saints an unprecedented four sets to carry the win: 26-24, 26-24, 23-25, 28-26. This is to say, no team has won just a single set against Lighthouse this season until now.

In the first game, Beacon Hill, with home court advantage, were electrified on the verge of winning. It was 18-21. After a bruising loss Sept. 3 at Lighthouse's home, they could smell blood.

But LCA didn't stress. LCA hunkered down and summoned that driving competitive edge and liquidated the game 26-24.

Game 2 was similarly a back-and-forth affair, and LCA was pressed again to snatch the win at 26 -- the game ends at 25, but you have to win by a margin of two points so it keeps going until one team gets the upper hand.

In Game 3, the Saints started lazily, going down 4-8. Coach Jessica Young called time out to steel her players. LCA regained its form but not enough to prevail. This was the first set they lost this season, and Beacon Hill gets the honors of humbling the league masterclass.

The Gryphons had the momentum. The three freshmen of the LCA were stressed.

But the seniors weren't stressed. They've been war-hardened by club competition. They knew they had what it takes to win again.

Playmaker Allie Scribner was playing smart, alternatively making precise sets or unexpected dumps to catch off the Gryphons off guard. Dahlia bagged 16 kills -- a typical day of hunting for the deerslayer.

Sophomore Shayla Papik launched power serves and scrambled blocking defenses by being a secondary hitter. Sophomore Karine Keyser mixed things up by hitting at center, and blocked a Gryphon hit.

Even though they were targeted on serves and hits, the freshmen responded and proved why their part of the first team. Lucy Young got some amazing digs and dazzled with her almost impeccable serving. Jillian Jenkins was tearing back and forth across the back row, diving to make saves on tough hits. Riley Gonzalez, who was feeling sick, rallied to perform and even got in on the hitting (which is noteworthy because she's the shortest member on the team).

"I'm really proud of the freshman because this was the hardest game we've played so far," Dahlia said. "They were really stressed and getting in their heads, but they were able to pull through and perform and we won."

Gryphon Coach Tracy Burr had nothing but praise for LCA: "They're great. We love playing them. We love the competition that they bring. I hope to get to play them again before playoffs because they're really the only team... They just are so competitive and consistent and a lot of fun to play."

It is typical for players to cheer (jeer) when they score. This has the effect of rallying themselves while taunting and intimidating their opponents.

But Dahlia doesn't like to be taunted. She doesn't get intimidated.

She gets angry.

"My hitting wasn't the best, but I feel like my passing was good and that's what we needed because they had some good hitters," Dahlia said. "At first I wasn't expecting them to block me, then they started and I had to adjust to it. I think I did decent.

"Don't make me angry on the court," she adds. "They think they're cute. The block me once. They're like 'Oh woot!' I'm like, 'Oh, okay, we'll see about that.'

"And we won."

Read more about LCA volleyball: the Jill Chills (Game 1). Sharp shooter Shayla (Game 2), No return policy (Game 3) , Abigail is Elsa (Game 4), God Balls (Game 5), Little girl beat upbig boy (Game 6), Craziah for Keziah (Game 7).

About this reporter: Mike Ashcraft teaches writing at Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica.