Harvest Christian wins regional crown
Harvest Christian Academy is in its first year of playing IHSA sports but Thursday night, the Lions’ girls volleyball team played like they’ve been there forever.
Harvest Christian defeated Westminster Christian 25-18,25-22 in the Class 1A regional championship game in front of a packed house at Harvest Christian, the school’s first regional title in any sport.
Harvest Christian (23-11-1) advances to the Westminster Christian sectional, where the Lions will take on Morgan Park Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Lions were dominant in Game 1 Thursday, and Westminster Christian head coach Kathy Ramos knew her Warriors (18-11) were feeling the pressure of this new rivalry between the Elgin schools.
“I think it was just nerves,” said Ramos. “It’s loud and crazy in here, they were just trying to adjust to all of that. They fought, they were just unlucky.”
The Warriors seemed to have bounced back in Game 2, but the Lions rallied from a 6-point deficit thanks largely in part to some big kills by sophomore Sydney Doby. With the game tied at 20, Kali Cramer came up with a kill and a block to give the Lions a boost, and then it was Doby again who finished off the 5-0 run with a block kill to give Harvest Christian its first regional title in school history.
“It’s just a blessing to help the team that way and contribute up front,” said Doby. “It was really fun to play against another good Christian school. They’re very competitive.”
Doby finished the night with 15 kills, 3 blocks, and an ace while Cramer notched 13 assists for the Lions. For the Warriors, Cara Tyrell led the team with 7 kills and 3 aces while Claire Speweik tallied 4 kills on the evening.
The bleachers at Harvest Christian were filled with a huge crowd of supportive fans, and that was also a plus for Doby.
“This year, the volleyball season has drawn a lot of school spirit,” she said. “We haven’t had that in the past couple of years, so it was really cool to get everyone out here and fill up the bleachers.”
Harvest Christian winning a regional in their first year in the IHSA may seem improbable to some, but Doby and her teammates knew it could happen.
“With our team, we thought it was possible,” said Doby. “We’ve got a really close team, we’re really bonding.”