Crown Point junior Kayliyah Deshields is proof that screen time has benefits.
Watching volleyball on television, Deshields became fascinated with the sport.
“Honestly, I saw it on TV,” she said. “I started watching it, and the more I watched, the more I liked it. Then my cousin started playing, so I wanted to play too. So, yeah, my journey is different than most.”
The 6-foot-2 Deshields’ journey also got a boost from Crown Point coach Alison Duncan, who recently earned her 500th career win.
“Kayliyah tried out for our seventh grade team,” Duncan said. “I went to the tryouts and put her on the list myself because she was super tall. Unfortunately, the middle school coaches didn’t keep her, and I was upset about that.
“Luckily, I convinced her to try out again. Now look where she’s at.”
A former swimmer, Deshields has been making waves as a middle blocker. She recorded a team-high four blocks and eight kills during Crown Point’s 25-5, 25-9, 25-16 win over Munster in the Class 4A Lake Central Sectional championship match last week.
“Her development has really skyrocketed,” Duncan said. “In the last year and a half, the tempo started clicking for her, and everything physically started clicking for her as well.
“Tall, dominant middle blockers are hard to find, and the fact that we have two of them is even more awesome.”
The other is 6-4 junior Ivy Henderson, who is a standout in basketball too. Deshields has a team-best 100 blocks for the Bulldogs (29-3), who will play their Duneland Athletic Conference co-champion, Chesterton (30-3), in the LaPorte Regional championship match at 4 p.m. Saturday, and Henderson has 75 blocks.
“It’s good to know that when I step off the court, she’ll keep it moving,” Henderson said. “I trust that she’ll come into the game and go get as many blocks as I can when I’m out there — maybe even more.”
That trust extends beyond the court. Henderson, Deshields and Duncan describe the pair as inseparable.
“We’re really good friends,” Henderson said. “We keep each other hyped and go through training together, so we always know what the other is going through.”
There’s another perk.
“She can drive, and I can’t, so she gives me rides everywhere,” Henderson said.
Duncan said the Bulldogs will need to ride their dynamic duo in the middle to advance in the postseason.
“They’re funny and goofy,” Duncan said. “But when it comes time to compete, they get serious and almost hyperfocused, and for us to win, it all starts with really good blocking. That allows our setters to distribute the ball, look to the other side of the net and read the opposing blockers, and move the ball around correctly, which is really hard to do.”
Deshields embraces the role she plays in that plan of attack and hopes to help Crown Point reach its goals. The Bulldogs won two of three matches against Chesterton during the regular season.
“I see myself as a physical leader for this team,” Deshields said. “I need to be a physical presence in the middle and establish myself as a hitter. I feel confident in myself and the team because we’re working really hard in practice and we all have one big goal we’re working toward — to win Saturday and reach semistate.
“We all want it so bad that we’ll work extra hard for it, and we won’t give up. We’re going to bring even more energy than we did in any of the previous games before.”
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.
