The Herald-Zeitung

SAN ANTONIO — Down two games and trailing in the third, it would have been easy for Canyon Lake’s volleyball team to roll over and take a sweep.

Devine had the Hawks on the brink of elimination in the first-ever playoff game in Canyon Lake’s history. But the Hawks didn’t go down so easily.

In front of a rowdy crowd of supporters at the Alamo Convocation Center on Tuesday, Canyon Lake dug in, mounting a furious third-game rally and winning the following game to force a decisive fifth frame.

Emotionally drained and physically exhausted, the Hawks faltered in the fifth, and Devine went on to win the match 27-25, 25-16, 19-25, 20-25, 10-15.

The loss was disappointing, but Canyon Lake coach Nicole Creek said she was proud her Hawks fought so hard.

“They showed a lot of character, a lot of determination and a lot of emotion,” Creek said. “They could have just given up in that third game, but they didn’t. They fought on just like they’ve done all season. All season I’ve seen that in them.”

Devine won the first two games — both back-and-forth battles — to put the Hawks into an early hole. The Arabians (29-8) seemed poised to sweep the match, opening the third with a 9-3 run.

Canyon Lake countered, however. The Hawks (25-15) won six of the next eight points and continued to close the gap.

With Devine holding a 19-15 lead, Miki Roberts and Alyssa Drum connected on three straight kills to start a 10-0 run. With the momentum - and the emotion - on their side, Canyon Lake won the third game.

“We hadn’t been playing very aggressively all night,” Creek said. “But right there, we turned it. Miki was as at serve, and when they hit it back, we got our kills. That’s what we needed to do.”

The fourth game was another back-and-forth struggle, featuring 10 ties and five lead changes. Canyon Lake broke through with a 6-2 run late in the game, fueled by two more Roberts-to-Drum kills.

It forced the decisive game five, which opened with another frantic battle. There were five ties and three lead changes in the first 10 points alone. The teams rallied to a 10-10 tie, but fatigue finally began to take its toll.

“I saw that a little in Game 5 with us battling so much on the defensive end,” Creek said. “I don’t know if we were tired, but they got some really good shots on us.”

Devine went on a 5-0 run to clench the game and eliminate the two-year-old Hawks from their first-ever playoff appearance.

Roberts had 43 assists to fuel the Canyon Lake offense. Tira Chalk had 18 kills and Drum had a team-high 24.

“Alyssa is a senior, and she is a driving force defensively and offensively for us,” Creek said. “She’s a very determined individual.”

Katy Payne led the Canyon Lake defense with 30 digs and Drum chipped in 22.

Looking back at how far her young program has come, Creek said she had inklings that this year’s team would be good.

“I felt a spark at the end of the season last year, and they worked really hard in the offseason,” she said. “I knew it could come together, but I knew they had to form a special team bond - it couldn’t just be one player - and they did that.”

Every step has been a new one for Canyon Lake. But with so much history made already, the Hawks can look forward to taking more steps in the future.

“We have tons of potential, especially with this younger group,” Creek said. “I have two sophomores, six juniors and I brought up two freshman from the JV team to watch and be a part of it tonight. There is tons of potential. We’ve been working hard every single day, and we’ll be back next year.”