Keswick Christian’s giving coach Karrmayne King a final season to remember

After 35 years as Keswick Christian’s volleyball coach, Karrmayne King decided this would be her final season on the bench. Her team is making her work overtime.

The Crusaders won the Class 2A, District 9 tournament title on Thursday night with a 25-18, 25-12, 25-14 win over Academy at the Lakes.

By winning the district, Keswick Christian will host a regional quarterfinal match on Thursday.

“We played really well tonight," King said. “We’ve never really put together a full match. I felt like this was the first full match that we’ve played. Everybody was locked in. It was a great atmosphere."

Keswick Christian (22-4) has won 11 of its past 12 matches. The Crusaders did get swept by Indian Rocks Christian in the final regular-season match, but they won both district tournament matches in straight sets.

Final rankings and region brackets will be released Sunday night. King figured this could be a successful season, but it’s been a work in progress.

“I knew we had a lot of parts but it depended on how they came along through the year," King said. “We have two freshmen playing our middle spots (Lauren Cook and Sydney Melcher) and they have progressed. And when you have a player like Sydney Jackwin, you always have a chance."

Jackwin, a sophomore, led the team with 346 kills prior to the district tournament.

This will be the first region tournament appearance for the Crusaders since 2015.