San Francisco, CA -- Despite a valiant effort by the Academy of Art women's volleyball team, Dixie State earned its second 3-1 victory over ART U in as many nights. The score may not have reflected it, but the mood of the Knights was noticeably different from the night before. It's safe to say that, even in the midst of a tough stretch for the Knights, there can be bright spots and their can be turning points, and Tuesday's game contained both of those.
The turning point for the Knights (5-9, 2-2 PWC) came in the fourth set. Down 0-4 early, an apparent kill by outside hitter Angela Heath was overturned by the up ref, prompting a yellow card and then a red card on Magner, who was visibly upset with the call. Her outburst seemed to shake ART U's confidence for a couple points, but that fire quickly ignited the rest of her team.
With the Red Storm up 14-6, the Knights took over. A service error by Dixie was followed by a combo block by senior middle blocker Camille Board and freshman setter Kawai Oleole, and the comeback was on. Back-to-back kills by Board brought the Knights within two points at 14-12, and forced a Dixie timeout. The Knights eventually lost the set, but the comeback was definitely more than a footnote in the boxscore.
"We're there. We got a lot better tonight," Coach Allison Magner said. "We came into tonight talking about one thing and one thing only, and that was a word: Believe. Compared to last night, tonight this team believed. They believed and they played for one another, as a team. "
The Knights were out to vindicate Monday's loss to the Red Storm (8-6, 3-3 PWC), but early on it looked like more of the same, as Dixie won out in the end, 25-15, 17-25, 25-14, 25-20 on Tuesday night. This time, however, it was not for lack of effort that the Knights came up short. Whereas Monday night was riddled with attack errors and mental mistakes, the match was simply the Red Storm countering every move that the Urban Knights made.
Another item on Magner's list for the season has been to find a consistent lineup that would carry them throughout the rest of the year. Freshman Ka'ena Kaina has been inserted into the lineup, and Magner has also been searching for the right fits at both libero and middle blocker. Tuesday's match may have provided answers to both of those questions.
After four years of dominance by Dan "Phooey" Yang, the Urban Knights have been searching for a leader to take over when the game needs it most. Board finished with a team-best 11 kills, good for a .320 hitting percentage. Board's hitting percentage has climbed over the past few matches, as have her kills and title of "playmaker" seems to be settling nicely on her shoulders.
"Camille is truly a coach's dream," Magner said. "She listens, she's passionate, she works hard. We've been waiting for that leadership piece to come out in her a little bit more, and she definitely broke through tonight and led her team through some tough moments. We were able to get back on top after some of her incredible kills and blocks. She's one of a kind and I'm very proud of her."
Magner has also tinkered with the lineup at the libero position, using freshman Midori Le as well as senior Nicolette Hagan. On Tuesday, Academy of Art had four players post double-digit digs, led by freshman Julie Cremoux's 19. Cremoux, who has never played libero before, stepped seamlessly into the position and came up big for the Knights.
"Julie is, as I would describe her, savagely focused," Coach Magner said. "There's something about her. She has a very high IQ, and picks things up very quickly. As a coaching staff, in our observance of film, games, and practices, there's always been something about Julie. We put her back there, and she came through with 19 digs. She's going to go after the ball no matter what the situation is, no matter what the point spread is, it doesn't make a difference to her. She plays exactly the same at all times. I know we made the right decision."
The Urban Knights received solid efforts from Board and Mykal Vailu'u (9 kills, 10 digs), and Oleole had another good match with 33 assists. Leanani Keanini (17 digs, 7 kills) and Heath (12 digs, 8 kills) also had double-digit performances for the Knights, who will have to turn it around and right the ship against Cal Baptist, playing another two-game series with the Lancers on Friday and Saturday.
