Who are the Lady Lions, you ask? If I said the Etna Lady Lions,
fans of Anzar High volleyball should know the
”
anzar,
”
so to speak.
Who are the Lady Lions, you ask? If I said the Etna Lady Lions, fans of Anzar High volleyball should know the “anzar,” so to speak.
The Hawks meet the Lady Lions tonight at Gavilan College in the first round of the CIF NorCal volleyball Division V tournament at 7 p.m.
Things could very well have been reversed. It could have been the Hawks traveling the lengthy bus ride to Yreka to play the Lady Lions. Etna lost its match to Mercy the very same way the Hawks won their match against Valley Christian-Dublin.
While Anzar lost its first two games of the section final 13-15, 12-15, only to come back for 15-14, 15-18, 15-8 and the Central Coast Section D-V title, the Lady Lions pulled a reversal. Etna won the first two games 15-5, 15-11, only to lose to the Warriors of Mercy 9-15, 14-16 and a rally scoring thriller 16-18. Etna led 15-14 and had match point, but a dubious double hit violation which went in favor of the Warriors tied the match 15-all. And you know the rest.
What it all means remains to be seen. The Lady Lions’ best player appears to be middle blocker Lindsey Haupt, who had 10 kills and 12 blocks against Mercy. Haupt is listed at 5-11, as is Jaclyn Raineville. Two players – Lindsay Hiett and Christa Rainville – are listed at 5-10. So the Lady Lions do have some height for the Hawks to deal with.
The Hawks, seeded third, will have its loud home crowd in their favor and that could be the difference in the match. This is the biggest sporting event in school history. A victory and the Hawks move on to the NorCal semis.
The whole thing surely must be overwhelming for the Hawks seniors. Corinna Forson, Stephanie Smith, Kiely White, Cory Strasser and Casey Norton were part of the program as freshmen. The Hawks could barely beat a sole back then. The x-factor was senior setter Gena Ray, who transferred from Mt. Madonna before the 2001 season. That was the missing piece to the puzzle. White’s transition to outside hitter to middle blocker this season was a bold move, but it worked beautifully. Leanna Hardy, a junior, has been steady in all facets, while sophomore Treva Crocker is coming into her own as a force around the net.
Hawks head coach Tamara Smith and her assistants Michael Dorney, Chris Wardlaw and Cameron White also deserve much of the credit.
It’s a nice “Hoosiers”-type story building right now and it will grow the deeper the Hawks go into the tournament. Should the Hawks meet top-seed Ripon Christian in the NorCal finals it would be a great achievement. A victory there would be well, as overwhelming as the Hawks’ rapid rise to small school respectability.
Stephanie Smith, as she did before Saturday’s D-V section match, will no doubt sing the national anthem. There will be chills going down the spine of the Hawk players, coaches, their fans and mine.
The Hawks have come a long way.
