The Heritage Christian Lady Warriors did as expected Saturday afternoon, in impressive fashion. HCA swept their way to a KCAA Super Regional Volleyball tournament championship beating North Hardin Christian and Micah Christian in straight sets.
The Lady Warriors opened quickly in their semifinal match against North Hardin Christian. HCA got out to an early 6-2 lead in the opening set. The Lady Warriors would then close the first set on a 10-2 run to take the win 25-11 and go up 1-0 in the match.
After rolling through the opening set, the Lady Warriors hit a bit of a lull at the beginning of the second set. Early on the set was tied at 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. Behind the play of Mya Goodwin and Bailey Craft, HCA got things into gear late in the set, outscoring North Hardin 8-2 over the final ten points to close out the match with a 25-17 win in the second set.
Elle Heltsley ended the match with 7 kills. Mya Goodwin added four of her own. Lexi Crisp chipped in with three more. Bailey Craft and Mya Goodwin were big at setting the table for the Lady Warriors. Goodwin had seven assists, while Craft had six for the Lady Warriors as they advanced to the championship match.
In the final, the Lady Warriors would face Micah Christian, who had to go a long three sets against Oak Ridge to reach the title match.
Much like the second set of the match against North Hardin Christian, the Lady Warriors had trouble getting things going in the opening set of the title match. Some of that could be attributed to a couple of injuries that HCA had to push its way through early on.
Micah Christian opened the match strong, taking an early 8-4 lead over the Lady Warriors. The Lady Lions would still be leading at 13-10 when the Lady Warriors found their “sea legs” so to say. With Elle Heltsley, Mya Goodwin, and Bailey Craft leading the way, HCA went on a 9-2 run to take a 19-15 lead and it would be a lead they would not relinquish. The Lady Warriors would go on to close out the set 25-17 to go up 1-0 in the match.
That rally at the end of the opening set appeared to be the spark that the Lady Warriors were looking for. HCA started the second set with a 5-1 run and took control of the match. By the time the Lady Lions had a chance to gather their thoughts, the lead was at 19-5 and the championship was a foregone conclusion. HCA would close out the set and the match 25-9 to claim the Super Regional championship.
Elle Heltsley had a big-time performance, finishing with 14 kills. Bailey Craft finished with 16 assists. Mya Goodwin was solid across the board with five kills, three aces, and 12 assists.
The Lady Warriors will now move on to next week’s KCAA state tournament.
