This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Faith Christian takes 7th at state VB tournament to cap record season

Faith Christian Academy, a private school serving Geneva-area families for 32 years, capped a record volleyball season by finishing in seventh place of 24 schools at the Lutheran Sports Association state tournament Nov. 3 in Springfield. While downstate, the Falcons also broke the school record for victories. FCA's 39 wins were the most in the volleyball program's 19-year history.

The Falcons opened the tournament facing defending state champion Peoria Christ Lutheran School in the first round of pool play Nov. 1. Peoria entered the weekend as the tournament's No. 2 overall seed and owned a 27-1 record, but Faith Christian handed Peoria its second loss of the season with a 25-20, 25-17 victory. Several Falcons led Faith to victory. Gigi Crescenzo delivered nine kills, Anneliese Lockner and Jessica Smith had nine assists apiece, and Lockner went 14 for 14 serving with five service winners. The win was Faith Christian's 36th of the season, breaking the single-season school record for victories. The previous mark was 35 wins set in 2011.

FCA went on to win its pool with a 3-0 record, beating Salem Lutheran of Jacksonville 25-7, 25-9 and Trinity Lutheran of Edwardsville 22-25, 25-15, 25-11. Lockner blistered Salem Lutheran with 11 for 11 serving and eight service winners while Smith and Lauren Caprini delivered five assists apiece and Crescenzo pounded a team-high five kills. Caprini sparked FCA to a comeback victory over Edwardsville with four aces, eight service winners and 24 passes to setter. Crescenzo spiked a team-best 12 kills, and Lockner had a team-high 16 assists and five digs.

FCA's first-place pool showing advanced the team to the championship bracket, where the Falcons were pitted against Peoria Christ Lutheran again in the quarterfinals. Peoria was highly motivated for the rematch, storming out to a 12-1 lead en route to a 25-4, 25-16 victory. Faith Christian moved to the consolation semifinals, where Immanuel Lutheran of East Dundee edged the Falcons in a tightly contested battle 30-28, 26-24. FCA had game points in both the first and second sets, but East Dundee rallied to victory both times. Smith set up spikers with seven assists, and Lockner went 14 for 15 serving and paced FCA with five digs.

The Falcons bounced back on Sunday, defeating Our Savior's Lutheran School of Springfield 25-10, 25-11 to earn the tournament's seventh-place team plaque. FCA finished in 12th place in its first appearance at state in 2011. Lockner and Nicki Smith propelled the Falcons with 9 for 9 serving, while Caprini registered a team-high eight kills and Ally Will recorded 12 passes to setter.

Representing FCA at state were team captains Caprini, Lockner and Will along with Nicki and Jessica Smith, Crescenzo, Anna Verhage, Jessica Chiaro and Meagan Clemens. Faith Christian concluded its season with a final season record of 39 wins and 8 losses. The varsity squad's record was 24-6, while the JV team went 15-2. FCA enjoyed many season highlights, including the championship at the 12-team Aurora Central Catholic Eighth-Grade Invitational, a first-place tie at the Aurora Christian Tournament and a third-place showing at the Elgin St. John Lutheran Tournament. The Falcons also reached a milestone when they registered their 400th win in the history of the program in a victory at Cross Lutheran School of Yorkville Sept. 16. FCA has amassed a 434-113 record in 19 seasons of volleyball.

Also representing the Falcons this season were Corrin Schulze, Mackenzie VanDerSnick, Paige Petty, Liz Watson, Rose McCormick, Grace Hansen, Jessica Kohlmeyer, Julia Turek, Bethany Nielsen, Clara Demaray and Taylor Tinnes. The Falcons were coached by Jeff Smith and Val Weeks. The team's season theme for 2013 was "Time to Shine," based on Matthew 5:16 from the Bible, which says "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

To learn more about Faith Christian, visit www.fcageneva.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?