Popsicles broke the heat of the barn

By Eden Garcia --

I actually thought we were going to lose the fourth -- it would have been the final -- set against Glendale Adventist Thursday. After losing set #2 and #3, we were trailing 3-9.

The heat at the "Barn" which is Cougar's gymnasium sapped Lighthouse Christian Academy players, and we lacked energy.

But hitter Jill Jenkins and setter Shayla Papik dialed up the concentration and pulled us out of the hole.

The Saints won the Game, but it took five sets.

Glendale Adventist surely was sorry to lose their lead and momentum. They were on the brink of achieving what no one has accomplished in three years in the Omega League, beat Lighthouse.

The Saints smashed set #1.

Then, as sometimes happened, we eased off the gas pedal.

The heat was weighing on us also. We're close to the ocean here in Santa Monica and enjoy the best weather in L.A. They're all the way out in Glendale.

Plus their gymnasium has no AC, no insulation. They use huge fans to ventilate. Sometimes, the fans blow so much air that it interferes with the direction of the ball.

So in Set #2 we lost -- and again in Set #3.

We were heading to the final loss in Set #4, when our stars, Jill and Shayla pulled us up by our own bootstraps.

We won again.

The momentum had shifted.

The Cougars have great sportsmanship. At the end of the heatwave game, they gave us popsicles.\

About this writer: Eden Garcia is a player on the team and a student of journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academy of Santa Monica.