As a top seed of the Class 1A Harvest Christian Sectional, the Lions squared off with a Westminster team that served well and played with energy Tuesday.
In fact, the Warriors built an 8-3 lead in Game 1 of the Faith Lutheran Regional semifinal. Then Godzilla woke up and destroyed the city, with Harvest Christian rolling to a 25-14, 25-9 victory.
“We were just nervous a little bit, going into the postseason for our first game,” Ellie Burzlaff said. “We came into the huddle and talked about how it was time to get started. From there, we picked up our energy.”
After falling behind early, Harvest (19-14) went on an 11-0 scoring spurt in Game 1, largely behind the serving of Hannah Griffith. It put the Lions up 14-8. A trio of aces served by Burzlaff later sent Harvest ahead 23-14, and the game ended on a pair of kills by Griffith.
But Westminster reminded Harvest early on that you have to be ready to go from the outset once the postseason arrives. Harvest easily handled Westminster in their regular-season meeting.
“We were better prepared this time,” Westminster coach Guy Lund said. “I don’t think they were expecting us to be that prepared, and they were a little cold.
“Our serving was on early, and then they got warmed up. Then our passing broke down, and it continued into set number two.”
Harvest grabbed early control of Game 2 and never let go, with Burzlaff, Griffith and Amanda Cassidy serving well. The three ultimately combined for 16 aces.
“We’ve all been serving well. It was just our turn,” Burzlaff said.
The Lions jumped to a 4-0 lead in Game 2 behind three aces from Cassidy. Three aces from Burzlaff put them up 12-3. Mikayla Robinson’s power was also on display during the early stretch, as she hammered three of her game-high six kills.
“We’re a very young team, and we came out a little timid,” Harvest coach Carissa Mok said. “Westminster came out strong, and they wanted it. They gave us a much better game.”
The Lions’ improved play also was traceable to Burzlaff.
“We got some senior leadership out of Ellie. She’s a senior, and she’s going to do everything possible to keep the girls motivated,” Mok said.
A Burzlaff kill gave Harvest a 25-9 win in Game 2, ending Westminster’s season. Candis Kaplan finished with eight digs for the Lions, and setter Hannah Murray finished with 13 assists.
Harvest will play the winner between host Faith Luthern and Elgin Academy in Thursday’s regional championship match.
“We picked up our energy,” Murray said. “And once we stopped missing our serves, we picked it up. We’ve lost at supersectionals three years in a row, but we’re getting closer and closer.”
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“We want it,” Burzlaff said. “And I believe in us.”
The Warriors will graduate back-row players Melanie Izquierdo and Radiat Ephrem. Lund hopes Monday’s three-set postseason win over Alden-Hebron, along with Tuesday’s experience, will pay dividends next season.
“Both Melanie and Radiat had tremendous games yesterday, so that was nice,” Lund said. “I really want the girls to work on awareness for next year and be more strategic.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.