Girls volleyball: Harvest Christian rolls into sectional finals
It's clear by Tuesday night's performance that the Harvest Christian girls volleyball team can't wait to play for a fifth straight Class 1A sectional title.
The host Lions will get their chance on Thursday when they face Schaumburg Christian in the sectional championship after making quick work of St. Benedict in the semifinals on Tuesday with a 25-8, 25-7 win in a match that took just over 30 minutes.
Mikayla Robinson led the way for the Lions with a team-high 9 kills.
"We are playing with a lot of confidence," Harvest coach Carissa Oelke said. "It's a very motivated group that wants to go far. But at the same time they are doing a very good job at staying focused on preparing and playing one match at a time."
The Lions (23-14) raced from the gate in Game 1 by scoring the first 7 points and never looked back.
Senior Ellie Burzlaff, who has been with the team since her freshman year, set the tone early with 5 kills in the first game. She finished with 6 kills and had 3 aces.
"We are really excited," Burzlaff said. "Our team plays with a lot of energy and I could really feel that tonight. We were working really well together. The passing and the sets were really good and we were getting the ball down."
Harvest also got off to a fast start in Game 2 as it opened a 16-1 advantage. Robinson heated up and took over as she scored with 4 straight kills at one point during the stretch.
The Lions fired away at will from the net connecting on 17 of 18 kill attempts in the match.
"I liked the way we started strong and stayed focus throughout," Oelke said. "We were able to play our game and run our offense."
The Lions also had a strong game serving with 15 aces. Sophomore Isa Garcia led the way with 6. She also had a team-high 4 digs.
"We practice serving a lot," Garcia said. "That's what it takes. I just focused on seeing the open spots. The team played great and I was glad I could do my part to help."
Hannah Murray had 13 assists for the Lions and Hannah Griffith had 3 blocks.
The Lions had a pair of some what closely contested wins over their opponents on Thursday Schaumburg Christian in summer league play.
"They have a couple big hitters," Oelke said. "But it's more about taking care of what we need to do on our side. That's what we'll be focused on."