BY ALLAN STEELE
HEMET— Baylee Christian’s volleyball career will come to an end soon, the brace on her left knee a sign of the sometimes merciless nature of the sport. A devastating knee injury in the first match of her sophomore year ended her season and resulted in numerous surgeries and countless hours of rehab and physical therapy. Christian returned last season, but this year the senior has emerged as one of the area’s top hitters in helping lead the Hemet team into Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 4AA championship match. The Bulldogs will play for a fourth-consecutive title and second-straight with Christian as an offensive force. But even with all the painstaking work to get back on the court, doctors told Christian earlier this year that the knee wouldn’t hold up past this season. So the senior is “going out with a bang.” Instead of a burden, the brace has become as sign of resilience and perseverance. “It’s not 100 percent but I just decided I just couldn’t not play anymore, so I did what I could to get back out there,” said Christian, who leads the area with 5.5 kills per set. She was admittedly nervous and cautious last season in her return, but she’s made some adjustments defensively and the injury never did limit Christian’s ability to leap for kills or blocks. “You can’t play nervous,” Christian said. “I just said ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ but I need to go out and play as hard as I can without fear.” “Going through a whole year and having everything work out OK really gave her confidence,” coach Janie Washburn said. “It shows how willing she is to work. She is never one to say my knee hurts I need to take a break. She fights through it.” Hemet will meet a familiar foe in the championship match, which is 5 p.m. Saturday at Cerritos College. Saddleback Valley Christian and the Bulldogs played in the title match last season, with Hemet having to rally to win the last two sets for a third-straight championship. The Warriors (29-4) haven’t lost a set since Oct. 19. Top-seeded Hemet (22-1) hasn’t lost a set since Sept. 26 against Temecula Valley. Both teams appear ready for a tough rematch. “If we just play our game we’ll be fine,” said senior setter Tristan Self, who will be playing in her fourth championship match. “In the third game (last year) we got a little momentum at the end which helped us in the fourth and fifth games,” she said of the Bulldogs rally. “I think a lot of it was because we’d been there before and I don’t think they handled the pressure as well as we did.” For at least one senior, pressure is all relative. “I found out (in September) I couldn’t play in college, it was done,” Christian said. “So I just needed to go out as hard as I can, and if I’m going to hang it up then I need to go out with a bang.” Follow Allan Steele on Twitter at @asteele12000