The Jill Chill

By Michael Ashcraft --

She was too good of an athlete.

Jillian Jenkins was a blur on the court. She spiked, set, dug, served, dove. She left her skin on the floorboards, along with her sweat. It's scary to think she's a freshman.

"When Jill hits a good ball, I get the chills," said Coach Jessica Young.

Apparently, de Toledo High School of West Hills got the chills. They had a hard time dealing with Jill's handiwork and got frozen out in three straight sets 25-21, 25-17, 25-21. Lighthouse Christian Academy plundered the Jaguars.

Jill and crew left them on ice.

Jill put them in the pickle. Call her Jill Pickle.

She drove balls at them like Home Depot. Call her Power Jill.

While coach got the chills, LCA fans got the thrills.

There's bad news in all of this -- bad news, that is, for future adversaries.

"Most of the time, she jumps too high for what the set is, she jumps early, and the set is coming down she has to hit a tip," Jessica confided. "She has to get used to her body."

"She's too good of athlete."

Too high, too quick, too good of an athlete.

Let those words sink in -- sink like one of Lucy Young's sinking serves that befuddled the Jaguars.

The Saints are slobbering over the season already.

Here's an irony: Jill didn't get much play time in her club, Jessica says. She didn't get off the court for LCA.

It looks like she's out to avenge the "character building" club season, as Jessica calls it.

If this is what happens when she's denied playing time, let the club continue denying her playing time.

The tips were effective. "She tips it right over the block because she's so high," Jessica says.

When asked about her performance, Jill was taken aback that this reporter wanted to talk to her.

"It felt fun, good, exciting," she said. Her laconic telegraphed response would resonate with Ernest Hemingway.

Her game has a lot more ease than her interviews.

About this writer: Mike Ashcraft teaches journalism at the LCA.