VISALIA -- The final swing of Raegan Heitzig's powerful right arm summed up the night for El Diamante High's volleyball team.
It didn't produce the hardest hit ball -- in fact, it barely got over the net -- but, like the Miners most of the time, it was in exactly the right spot to complete a crucial 25-17, 25-20, 25-11 West Yosemite League victory over Lemoore on Thursday night.
"It was game point, I'll take it," Heitzig said. "I don't care how I got it, it worked."
El Diamante (22-6, 8-1) pulls within a half-match of Lemoore (24-6, 9-1) for first place in the WYL. If the Miners and Tigers win out, they will share the WYL title, which would be a first for El Diamante.
"To think we can tie for [the WYL title] makes me happy," said Heitzig, whose 10 kills and five aces helped the Miners avenge a 25-23, 20-25, 25-16, 25-20 Lemoore victory Oct. 6 that she missed because of an ankle injury. "We've got to focus on our next two matches and pull it out."
The Miners won this match -- which is sure to have an impact on the Central Section Division II playoff seedings as it featured two of the four teams with 20-plus victories -- by controlling Tigers middle hitter Kathleen Anderson.
After hammering 27 kills in the first meeting, El Diamante limited Anderson to 12 kills in the rematch.
"We got touches on her and blocks," El Diamante coach Leslie Sorensen said. "We did manage her. That was huge."
And when the Miners weren't blocking Anderson, libero Dani Corona was digging out her power shots in the back row. Corona finished with 14 digs.
"She works so hard and reads hitters so well," Sorensen said. "When you can turn defense into offense, that's big."
After El Diamante cruised in the first set behind Larissa Torres' three kills and one block, the second set featured 11 ties. A Lemoore hitting error gave the Miners a 20-19 lead, and they pulled away behind two kills from Heitzig and one from Torres.
The third set was all El Diamante as Heitzig served 11 straight points, including five aces.
"They were really focused tonight," Sorensen said. "They wanted it. You could tell in their look."
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