Harvest Christian stops Elgin in 3
Harvest Christian saved the best for last on Thursday night in its final tuneup of the regular season before beginning its quest for a fourth straight regional title next week.
After splitting the first 2 games against visiting Elgin the Lions woke from their slumber and dominated game 3 to complete a 25-20, 20-25, 25-7 nonconference win on senior night.
Seniors Shayna Manusos, Jade Martinez, and Ashlyn Floyd have been with the Lions since day one four years ago when Harvest first qualified as an IHSA school. Now 105 wins, 3 regional titles, and 3 sectional titles later the trio is ready to add to their legacy.
"It's been a great four years," said Martinez, who had a game-high 15 digs. "We have made a lot of history already, but we are ready to make some more."
Junior Ellie Burzlaff had a team-high 12 kills to lead the Lions. Sophomore Mikayla Robinson added 10 kills. Manusos had 7 kills.
"I have a lot of great memories," Manusos said. "It's been special to share it with the other seniors Ashlyn and Jade and all my other teammates along the way. I'm feeling pretty confident heading into the regionals that we are ready to do more."
Harvest (19-14) struggled with its hitting at the net against Elgin in the first 2 games, connecting on just 19-of-37 (51 percent) of its kill attempts, including 8 blocks by the Maroons. However, the Lions found their mark in Game 3, knocking down 15-of-17 (89 percent) of their kill attempts.
Burzlaff and Robinson each had a pair of kills during a 6-0 run early in Game 3 as the Lions opened an 8-2 lead. Harvest cruised from there. Robinson had 3 straight kills to spark an 8-1 run later in the game as the Lions opened up a double digit 17-5 lead.
"It was good to see us finish strong," Harvest coach Kim Floyd said. "Elgin probably did the best job of blocking we've faced this season. In that last game we tried to adjust. We played at a quicker tempo and were able to slide our hitters behind the setters to some open spots."
Game 1 was tied at 19-19 before the Lions outscored the Maroons 6-1 down the stretch. Burzlaff had a couple of key kills during the run. However, Harvest proceeded to make 9 unforced errors to drop Game 2 before getting back on track in Game 3.
Hannah Murray had 23 assists and 3 aces for the Lions. Floyd added 10 assists.
"We have struggled with consistency," said Floyd. "That's the biggest thing we need to focus on is mentally staying in the game all the time."
Elgin (11-22) went on an 8-1 run midway through Game 2 to grab an 18-11 lead. Harvest got no closer than 4 points the rest of the way. However, 9 unforced errors in Game 3 help to do in the Maroons.
"We kind of ran out of gas in that third game," said Elgin coach Scott Stewart. "But I really like the way we played those first two games. That's the best blocking we have had all season and the best passing we have had in a long time. If we can play that way on Monday when we start regionals we'll be playing again on Tuesday and if we play that way again on Tuesday we'll be playing for a regional title on Thursday.'
Abby Pierre-Loius had 5 kills to lead the Maroons. Megan Alexander had a team-high 5 blocks. Bopha Travis had a team-high 13 digs.