Brandon Gurney, Daily Herald

Kalika Tafa made the somewhat surprising admission that he wasn’t really listening during the final timeout of Westlake’s four-set win over Lone Peak (28-26, 25-13, 20-25, 26-24) on Thursday.

Surprising since Tafa knew exactly what to do in ushering in a nearly flawless close to the fourth set to avoid a fifth and secure his team’s 21st win of the season.

Down 23-20 during the timeout, Tafa took over, scoring the team’s final five points to pull off the win and avoid the dicey prospect of a fifth tiebreaking set. Four of his points came off of thunderous kills with another off of a block with the Knights struggling to counterattack Tafa’s typical ferocity at the net.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t pay attention during that timeout. I was just telling myself that I need to do this,” Tafa admitted. “I felt like I was letting down the team, so in my mind, I was like, ‘I got to help (my team) out.’ When I’m into the game I just kind of ignore everything.”

Whatever inattention Tafa gave during the timeout probably didn’t bother Westlake coach Whitney Randall much, as she’s grown fond of Tafa’s process, which has benefited the Thunder tremendously. The junior standout leads the team with 273 kills and aces (23) on the season to help forge Westlake’s current 21-5 record and 10-0 mark in Region 3 play.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

“He is truly a remarkable player,” Randall said. “My husband and I have been coaching him since he was 12 years old, so just to see his growth and where he’s come is awesome. The team really trusts him and looks to him as a player who can deliver on those big plays.”

Through it all Tafa was smiling, much like he always does regardless of the situation.

“Sometimes you have to learn to take your mistakes as they go and kind of move through them, and that’s been something he’s been working on and it’s awesome to see,” Randall said.

For Tafa, his positive demeanor isn’t so much for his own play, but for those around him.

“Whenever I’m down I bring others down,” he said. “So if I stay positive and play the best I can, and do my job, then there’s nothing to complain about.”

But Thursday’s win certainly wasn’t just about Tafa as several other players stepped up big, including a group of seniors who were honored prior to their final match played on their home floor.

Standout seniors for the Thunder include Luke Barney, Keagan Cundiff, Ashton Hansen, Talon Schank, Isaiah Hall, Parker Swensen and Micah Sorensen. Cundiff is a team captain and plays the pivotal role of setter, while Schank leads the defense from his libero position and Swensen to both regards as the team’s primary opposite.

Tafa was mindful to praise each individual senior during his postgame interview for the contributions they’ve provided throughout his career at Westlake, and even for those who don’t see a lot of time in the rotation.

“I love all our seniors from the bottom of my heart,” Tafa said.

As mentioned, Thursday’s win improves Westlake’s record to a perfect 10-0 in Region 3 play, a mark Randall isn’t all that surprised by.

“I really did have high expectations for them throughout the season,” she said. “We kind of just took one game at a time, watched a lot of film, and we’d practice and come up with ways we could really attack each team, and it worked for us.”

With just one more game remaining in the regular season, Westlake will then turn to the state tournament where the opportunity is certainly there to make a significant run to win it all.

“The potential is that we can win it, but that’s not our focus,” Tafa said. “Our focus is to go one at a time because we can’t go straight to the end goal without focusing on the game ahead of it. So we just have to stay humble and see what happens from there.”