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A player like Hart High senior Brittani Elser couldn=E2=80=99t =
have scripted a=20
better finish to her high school career.
She and the Hart =
girls=20
volleyball team faced a fifth and deciding game against a Valencia =
team=20
Elser had yet to beat in her time at Hart.
Fittingly, on =
senior=20
night, it was Elser and fellow senior Sam Wiese who led the charge =
in a=20
dramatic 3-2 victory over the Vikings on Tuesday at Hart =
High.
The=20
two landed 14 kills apiece to co-lead the Indians to the win by =
scores of=20
25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 19-25 and 15-13. It marked Hart=E2=80=99s =
first victory over=20
the Vikings since 2006.
=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re a fighting =
team,=E2=80=9D Elser said. =E2=80=9CWe=20
may not be able to crush the ball with 6-foot-5 players, but we =
can=20
fight.=E2=80=9D
Despite a fourth-place finish in the =
Foothill League, the=20
Indians (15-13, 5-5) are still eligible to apply for an at-large =
bid to=20
the CIF-Southern Section Division IA playoffs, but head coach Mary =
Keen=20
said she=E2=80=99ll opt against playoffs.
Instead, her team =
will finish on=20
a high note by holding off pesky Valencia (15-8, 7-2).
The =
Vikings=20
trailed 2-0 after the first two games, falling victim to their own =
mistakes and Hart=E2=80=99s mixing of attacks.
Without the =
services of=20
three starters, Valencia had to start two freshmen and a =
sophomore, two of=20
which were recently called up from the junior varsity and freshman =
teams.
One of the starters, Sierra Sanchez, was out with an =
injury.
Valencia head coach Ray Sanchez didn=E2=80=99t =
comment on the=20
others.
Considering the circumstances, he was pleased with =
his=20
team=E2=80=99s performance.
=E2=80=9CEverything about this =
(match) was perfect=20
other than the final result,=E2=80=9D Sanchez said.
Early =
in the match,=20
Hart got Wiese heavily involved offensively in the middle, and the =
Vikings=20
couldn=E2=80=99t find an answer.
The Indians continued to =
put the pressure=20
on in the third game, opening a 17-12 lead before Valencia =
answered with a=20
8-1 run to take the upper hand at 20-18.
From there, Hart =
was its=20
own worst enemy with an array of missed hits and errant =
serves.
In=20
the fourth game, the Vikings carried the momentum and closed out =
strong=20
with two straight kills by Delaney Knudsen.
Knudsen led =
Vikings=20
with 13 kills and teammate Sydney Striff followed with =
10.
Freshman=20
Lindsey Knudsen tallied 35 assists as Valencia=E2=80=99s =
setter.
In the=20
final game of the night, Valencia again appeared to be in control, =
taking=20
an early 7-3 and prompting a Hart timeout.
=E2=80=9CI just =
told the girls,=20
=E2=80=98You=E2=80=99ve got to believe in =
yourselves,=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D Keen said. =E2=80=9CAnd then we started=20
chipping away and getting point after point.=E2=80=9D
The =
Indians closed=20
the gap at 8-8 before the two teams began trading=20
blows.
Eventually, it was Hart that looked poised, scoring =
the=20
final three points of the match off Valencia missed =
hits.
=E2=80=9CIt goes=20
back to (preleague),=E2=80=9D Elser said. =E2=80=9CWe took a lot =
of matches to five games=20
in (preleague), and I was confident going into the fifth=20
game.=E2=80=9D
Valencia had already secured a second-place =
finish in league=20
and a playoff spot.
The Vikings =E2=80=94 who postponed a =
match with=20
Canyon earlier in the season =E2=80=94 will play the makeup match =
today at 5:30=20
p.m. at Canyon High.
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