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They came, they saw, they conquered! The Harvey varsity volleyball team Saturday, finally did what no other volleyball team had been able to accomplish in Harvey history, make it to the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class C championship final. 

The Gryphons of The Cambridge School of Weston, Massachusetts, made a three-hour trek to the friendly confines of the Fenstermacher Athletic Center, where they were met by a determined and resilient group of volleyballers who had one thing on their mind … extend the season for one more day. The Cavaliers prevailed by a 3-1 margin and will head to West Hartford to the Kingswood Oxford School gymnasium Sunday to take on the No. 5 seed Hamden Hall Hornets for the NEPSAC Class C championship at 12:30 p.m.

Set 1 started out with some nerves on both sides and the score remained tight from the start, with Harvey eventually settling into leads of 15-12, 20-17, and 23-21. Cambridge, however, battled back to tie the score at 24-24 before closing out the set with a 26-24 win. Serving was solid for Harvey throughout the set as all Harvey servers were on their game. Sam Roberts led with three assists and one kill in the set, while Casey Kelly added one assist and two kills. Peyton Forde shored up the defense with three digs, Jadyn Lurie added two blocks, and Sara Strnad had one block to contribute as well.

Set 2 saw a snap-back performance for the Harvey girls, as they were determined to improve their game and turn the tables to notch a victory.  Serving remained strong, led by Maeve Lazzaro going eight for eight and Sydney Boothe going six for six to put the pressure on Cambridge. Harvey jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead and extended that to 6-3 and then 11- 4. The level of play stayed high for Harvey as the lead increased to 21-11 until Cambridge responded with a few points to close the gap to 23-16. However, it was not to be for Cambridge as Harvey closed out the set, winning 25-17. In addition to the serving strength, the offense gathered steam led by Kelly's two assists and four kills. Not to be outdone, Roberts added four assists and two kills to her portfolio. Forde and Strnad added one assist each and Lazzaro and Boothe had one kill each. Forde chalked up four more digs to support the defensive side of the set.

Harvey looked to take charge of the match in set 3 and did so with a strong start, taking leads of 3-1 and 8-4. Cambridge fought back, though, with runs of their own to tighten up the score 11- 9. But Harvey pressed on. More solid serves and good offense put the Cavs up 15-9 and 21-12 before closing out the set by a score of 25-13. Kelly led the way going nine for nine on serves along with three assists, one kill and one dig. Roberts served four for five with three aces, had three assists and one kill. Strnad had three kills of her own, while Boothe had one kill. Forde was stellar again with four more digs added to her total.

Looking to close out the match in set 4 proved to be challenging as Cambridge wasn't going to go down without a fight. Harvey again jumped out to a quick lead of 5-1, but Cambridge battled back to make it 8-6. The score was knotted at 12-12 and 14-14 as both teams fought hard for the lead. Harvey inched ahead with scores of 18-16 and 23-20. At that point the Cavs had to scramble as Jadyn Lurie came up limping and Harvey had to improvise with Sophia Kimmel taking the floor in an unfamiliar position. Cambridge took advantage of the situation and fought back to within one point at 23- 22 before Lazzaro made a key block in the middle to bring Harvey to the brink 24-23. The set finished on the next play with Harvey securing the victory 25-23. All servers were on but Kelly again led the group making 10/11 with two aces. Strnad added another assist, one kill and one block, and Roberts had one assist and two kills. Forde was there again on defense with three more digs and Carissa Rocco added three digs of her own.

With the win, Harvey has extended its overall record to a school record 17- 5. One of those Cavs’ losses came at the hands of Hamden Hall who swept them 3-0 in the two teams’ only regular season matchup in late October.