Volleyball/Scouting Class 1A River Ridge supersectional

Class 1A River Ridge supersectional

Harvest Christian Academy (25-11) vs. Dakota (38-1)

When: today at 4 p.m.

How they got here: Harvest Christian defeated Faith Lutheran 25-11, 25-7, Hinckley-Big Rock 23-25, 25-14, 25-13 and Westminster Christian 25-1, 25-20 to win its own regional and defeated Morgan Park Academy 25-16, 25-15 and Luther North to win the Westminster Christian sectional.; Dakota defeated Pearl City 25-16, 25-18 and Keith School 25-18, 25-19 to win the Aquin regional and defeated Ashton-Franklin Center 25-20, 25-21 and Galena 25-21, 25-19 to win the Forreston sectional.

Supersectional history: Dakota won a Class A supersectional in 1998, its only previous appearance.

Outlook: Pressure? What pressure? Everything is a new experience for Harvest Christian, which continues a remarkable postseason run in the volleyball program’s first year as a member of the IHSA. A win would make Harvest Christian Academy the first school since the inception of the four-class system to advance to the Final Four in any sport in its first year as an IHSA member school. The Lions are led by sophomore hitter Sydney Doby, who had 8 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks in the sectional title match. Jade Martinez got the Lions off on the right foot in that contest with 3 aces during an 8-point run to open the proceedings. Senior Kali Cramer later served 3 off her match-best 5 aces during a 12-0 run.

Dakota sophomore Sarah Thompson led the Indians with 13 kills in a sectional title win over Galena. Jaycee Cleaver and Aleesha Cleaver finished with 10 digs apiece. River Ridge is located in Hanover, on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Advancement: The winner of the River Ridge supersectional advances to a state semifinal at Redbird Arena in Normal on Friday at 9 a.m. against the winner of the Red Hill supersectional between South Central (33-4) and Gibault Catholic (30-8).