Hawks persevere

HOUSTON -- In the second game of Houston High School's opening round match with the Seward Seahawks South Central Conference volleyball tournament on Friday, the Hawks clinch their fists and fans clung to the edge of their seats seats, just like it was a game in a championship match.

Even though the Hawks lost the game 26-24 and the match 3-0, Houston played arguably its best and most inspired volleyball of the season.

"We gave Seward a fight, they beat us pretty bad the last time," Houston head coach Lisa Jaeger said. "(We) were getting to balls two weeks ago (we) never would have went for."

It hasn't been the easiest season for Houston. With a very young and inexperienced squad under a new coaching staff, Houston's season has been driven by little victories -- not necessilary the checks you can put in a win column, but the victories that mark perseverance and improvement.

"It's certainly been a roller coaster this year," Jaeger said. "We've had a lot of curve balls thrown at us -- some hard ones."

For Houston it has been a season of growing pains, a year of overcoming adversity. The Hawks dealt with the usual conflicts the average everyday prep sports team faces, but that was just the beginning of what Houston was faced to overcome. Sickness and family emergencies stood in front of the Hawks and in October, Houston was forced to part with its starting setter. Crystal Taylor and her family moved to Utah and Jaeger moved freshman Jennifer Mason into the starting lineup.

But through it all, despite their struggles, the Hawks have mentally held strong understanding that positive attitude will lead them down the path as they prosper as a team.

"We've come into this with a positive attitude," junior Kayla Fox said. "Keep your head high and never give up."

While Jaeger has a list of talents on the court in which the Houston players have greatly improved, Fox said, some of Houston's greatest accomplishments have been focusing on that positive attitude and continuing to work as a team.

On the court Jaeger is seeing her players be more aggressive on the block and dig and more contentious in the passing game.

Though the journey of three of the Hawk players -- seniors Cassy Hunter, Sam Ax and Ashley Engebretsen -- ended with the conference tournament, Houston has six juniors and a large group of underclassman likely to return, better from the experience of the 2004 season.