She changed her mind.<\/p>\n
But Kristin Lutes\u2019 ascension on the volleyball court remained very much the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was actually committed to Eastern Washington (University),\u201d the 2003 Kentlake High graduate explained. \u201cThen Sacramento State saw me play. Since Eastern wasn\u2019t offering me a (scholarship) …\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision was obvious.<\/p>\n
And it couldn\u2019t have worked out better for Lutes, who was one of the most prolific volleyball players in Kentlake High history from 2000-2003 before continuing that trend at Sacramento State University from 2003-2006. Lutes, who played outside hitter for Kentlake and moved to libero in college, was named earlier this month to Sacramento State\u2019s All-Decade team. Lutes, 25, was the lone libero to make the squad.<\/p>\n
As she reflects today on the decision that changed her life, Lutes couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly happy (with the decision to go to Sacramento State),\u201d said Lutes, who\u2019s currently working toward a master\u2019s degree in secondary-education counseling at City University. \u201cOnce you think life is going to be one way, God throws you for a loop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eastern\u2019s loss certainly was Sacramento State\u2019s gain.<\/p>\n
Few people are more aware of that than Drew Terry, who coached Lutes at Kentlake when the team steamrolled to three consecutive state championships (2000-2002).<\/p>\n
\u201cI told (Eastern coach Wade Benson) when he was recruiting players that if he wanted someone to play back row, that he wouldn\u2019t go wrong with Kristin,\u201d Terry recalled. \u201cFrom the start, she was a very well-rounded player and could have played any position I put her in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lutes may not have received that scholarship offer from Eastern, but she certainly showed her worth in the dozen times the Hornets met up with the Eagles. During Lutes time at Sacramento State, the Hornets won 10 of 12 matches against Eastern.<\/p>\n
Of course, Lutes always has been about winning. During her days at Kentlake, the star-studded Falcon squad won a state record 91 matches in a row, three league championships and three state titles. In Lutes\u2019 three years, Kentlake racked up a 118-5 overall record. Along the way, she earned all-league honors each year, and established school records for digs (985), digs per game (3.45) and serve-receive attempts (1,703), marks which still stand today.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was so skilled at passing the ball and preparing herself to attack … you couldn\u2019t beat her,\u201d Terry said.<\/p>\n
That success continued in college, where Lutes shifted from outside hitter to libero.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was taller, I would have stayed at outside hitter,\u201d laughed Lutes, who will be interning at Tahoma High this fall. \u201cMy height just didn\u2019t allow me to be an outside hitter at the D-I level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Needless to say, playing libero served Lutes \u2014 and Sacramento State \u2014 to perfection. At Sacramento State, Lutes was named the Big Sky Conference\u2019s Libero of the Year three times (2003, 2005, 2006). In addition, she was a two-time all-conference selection (2005, 2006) and established all-time Big Sky marks in digs (2,355) and digs per set (5.23). She also holds Sacramento State\u2019s and the Big Sky Conference\u2019s single-season marks for digs (768 in 2006) and led the Hornets to the NCAA tournament four straight years.<\/p>\n
Yet, despite all the numbers Lutes posted through the years, they\u2019re hardly what she will remember most.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, (the numbers) are not a highlight, but just proof of hard work,\u201d said Lutes, who recently became engaged and plans to marry next July. \u201cI think the highlight was the experience. To be committed to something so intense that it teaches you life skills, teaches you how to be an adult, how to be a leader, and how to deal with teammates who are different from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which simply goes to show, Lutes\u2019 ascension hasn\u2019t ended yet.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She changed her mind.
\nBut Kristin Lutes\u2019 ascension on the volleyball court remained very much the same.
\n\u201cI was actually committed to Eastern Washington (University),\u201d the 2003 Kentlake High graduate explained. \u201cThen Sacramento State saw me play. Since Eastern wasn\u2019t offering me a (scholarship) …\u201d
\nThe decision was obvious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":18670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-18669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18669"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=18669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}