Hoping for History
November 1, 2007
By: Kristen Bartheld <kbartheld@hilite.org>
This game has been a dream for Sarah Harbison, right- side hitter and senior, even before her days as a member of the high school volleyball team.
“Ever since eighth grade (seniors) Valerie (Akerhielm), (Sarah) Havel, Kalyse (Reimbold) and I had a vision; we wanted to win State. On last Saturday night our dream got closer, it’s so surreal. We are so close to being the best in the State,” she said.
The Hounds are in Semistate for the first time since 1994. On Saturday the team defeated Number-2 Avon: 20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23, to become the Regional champion. Elizabeth Lucich, middle hitter and junior, said, “I’m so excited. It feels surreal. I feel like I never would have expected to get this far, but we worked really hard and we deserve it.”
However, according to Harbison, the women on the team are not satisfied with the Regional win. They want more. “(We) always get out of Sectional; however, never out of Regional before now. I love doing what we did. You can doubt a team all you want, but all that matters is that we believe and our coaches believe,” she said.
Second-year Head Coach Bill Bastin was aware of the theory that many people did not believe that the Hounds could get past their tough Regional. “Last year when I came here and won Sectional, everyone was just like, ‘Oh, Carmel wins another Sectional and they’re finished now.’ That was something I took to heart and something I made the kids very aware of,” he said.
The Hounds will have a another chance to prove themselves tomorrow morning when they play Number-4 Elkhart Memorial after the 9 a.m. game of Floyd Central versus New Castle.
The ranking of their opponent does not intimidate Harbison. “We were unranked and beat Number-2 Avon,” she said. “I don’t think you can go by rankings at all. A lot of the top teams are out. It’s up for grabs.”
Bastin also said that rankings do not matter anymore. “It is anyone’s game. It all boils down to desire and heart,” he said.
According to Harbison, the strong team camaraderie will be a key asset tomorrow. “Out of every team I have been on, the team now is the true definition of the word. You can always depend on the person next to you,” she said. “We are such a team; there is not one person with a negative attitude.”
Tomorrow she will get a chance to achieve her dream of winning State. “We have been saying all year this is the year to do it,” Harbison said. “We can go down in CHS history as the first volleyball team to win (State). It would be amazing.”
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