Girls volleyball: Harvest Christian wins 5th straight sectional title
In the pregame warm ups at Harvest Christian on Thursday night the song "Break Down the Wall" blared over the public address system. A fitting selection considering the host Lions have ran into a wall the last 4 years after advancing to the supersectional.
The Lions will get yet another chance to overcome that obstacle after capturing their fifth straight Class 1A girls volleyball sectional title with a hard fought 25-16, 25-20 win over upstart Schaumburg Christian.
Harvest (24-14) will take on Lanark Eastland (37-1-1) at Westminster Christian in Elgin at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Fortunately, their opponent will not be the team that has knocked them out the last 3 years, Keith Country Day, which moved up to Class 2A this year.
"They are tired of hitting that wall in the supersectionals," first-year Harvest coach Carissa Mok said. "I think that has motivated them more than ever. I also think they are relieved that Keith Country Day is not standing in their way anymore. But whoever the opponent is they are ready to break through."
No one is looking forward to another chance to advance downstate more than senior captain Ellie Burzlaff, who is a four-year starter.
"I want this so bad," Burzlaff said. "We all do. We can't go in playing scared this time. We can't go in thinking we are not good enough because we are good enough. We are going to come ready."
Despite playing in the first postseason in school history Schaumburg Christian gave Harvest all it could handle. The Lions trailed 19-17 late in Game 2 before rallying with 8-1 run to close out the match.
They did it with their biggest weapon, South Carolina recruit Mikayla Robinson, on the bench because she doesn't play in the back row during the rotation.
Sophomore Amanda Cassidy stepped up in a big way with 4 kills during the stretch, including one that put the Lions in the lead for good 20-19.
"Our captain Ellie was talking to us the whole time and giving us a lot of confidence," Cassidy said. "We really want to do this for her."
Cassidy had a team-high 12 kills, including 8 in the second game.
"Amanda came through huge for us in this match," Mok said. "She is such a smart player and places the ball real well."
Burzlaff also played a key role in the victory with 9 kills and a team-high 9 digs.
"Ellie is just a great leader on floor," Mok said. "She always keeps the energy up and she can be a powerhouse at the net as well as being real scrappy on defense. She's everything you want in a player.'
The Lions also trailed early on 3-0 in Game 1, but scored the next 6 points to grab the lead and slowly pulled away. Robinson had 6 of her 8 kills in the first game.
Harvest setter Hannah Murray had 26 assists and 2 aces.
Schaumburg Christian finished an impressive 20-10 in its inaugural season in the IHSA and has lot to look forward with only one senior graduating. Junior Bailey Cummings had a team-high 12 kills.
"Some little errors down the stretch cost us," Schaumburg Christian coach Alice Cummings said, "And we were up against a real good team. But I'm proud of the way the girls played tonight and all season. For such a young team and our first year we were very competitive and have a lot to build on."
And while Keith Country Day won't be the opponent on Saturday, Lanark Eastland figures to be a tough match for the Lions. The Cougars' only loss this season was to Class 3A sectional finalist Sterling. Eastland has only been taken to 3 games in six matches.