In order to accomplish this task, HPU will have
to play the best volleyball of the season, and reach far beyond
anything they have done all year. It will mean going onto the
court, playing through pain, and finding that special something
inside that separates “good teams” from “champions.” That
may sound corny, but the only chance the Lady Sea Warriors
have right now is Heart.
Heart is so very much applicable here. One of the greatest
volleyball players to ever wear an HPU uniform, two-time
NCAAII All-American
Debbie Sant’Anna exemplifies it. She led HPU to a win over
BYU-H at the Cannon Center in a grueling match that had both
squads laying on the floor in exhaustion.
Sant’Anna had undergone dental work prior to the match.
That and some other ailments necessitated she play in pain, yet
she threw her body across the hardwood floor like a woman possessed.
Sant’Anna played far beyond even normal expectations that
night.
In one set, she hurled her body through the air to dig out
a ball that seemed impossible. She made the dig, and then
went
sliding across the floor on her belly, her head stopping about
six inches from the first row of wooden bleachers and a certain
concussion.
Her teammates saw that, and a fire was ignited inside of every
player on the court. After the game, Sant’Anna was asked
what inspired her great performance. Fighting back tears and
her physical fatigue, she pounded her fist against her chest.
“
It was the heart, the Brazilian heart,” she said.
HPU will need the same spirit in its next two games.
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