Cary-Grove wins Prairie Ridge title
When St. Charles East and Cary-Grove tangle on the volleyball court, whether it be in the regular season or postseason, the match is usually hard-fought and closely contested.
That was not the case at Saturday’s Prairie Ridge Invitational.
Led by 14 kills each from Division I recruits Ashley Rosch and Melanie Jereb, the Trojans cruised past the Saints 25-18, 25-18 in the fourth round of the tournament.
Cary-Grove (13-0), which won the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, also posted wins over Barrington (25-19, 25-17), New Trier (25-13, 25-10), Nazareth (26-28, 25-12, 15-8) and Prairie Ridge (25-19, 25-18).
In Game 1 against St. Charles East with the score tied at 9, Rosch took over with 5 consecutive kills as the Trojans scored 5 straight points to take a 14-9 lead.
St. Charles East battled back to get within 2 points of the Trojans at 20-18 on a kill by Olivia DeSormey. But the Saints couldn’t get any closer. The Trojans reeled off the final 5 points to win Game 1, capped by a kill from Rosch, who will play collegiately at Illinois State.
Similar to Game 1, St. Charles East stayed with the Trojans early in Game 2. With the score tied at 13, Cary-Grove distanced itself from the Saints with 6 straight points. Rosch and Jereb had 2 kills apiece while Suzy Dorsey and Sheila Wilhelmi had a kill apiece as the Trojans opened up a 19-13 lead.
The Trojans won the game on a kill by Jereb, a Creighton recruit.
“It was a very intense match and it was a fun match to play in,” said Jereb. “It was amazing to beat St. Charles because they are such a good team.”
Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis appreciates Rosch and Jereb’s talents.
“Ashley and Melanie gives us a dynamic duo,” said Langanis. “They are so solid in the front row. They played a great match.”
Nicole Lambert led the Saints (12-3) with 5 kills.
“We just didn’t have enough depth to sustain an effort for the entire match,” said St. Charles East coach Jennifer Kull. “We just couldn’t push through. It is not a skills thing it is a mental thing. Cary-Grove is a very well-coached team that is always well prepared.”
The Saints finished second with a 4-1 mark, defeating New Trier (25-23, 25-14), Nazareth (25-20, 25-12), Prairie Ridge (25-19, 25-27, 15-7) and Barrington (25-21, 26-24).
In the final match against Barrington, the Saints fought off a valiant effort by the Fillies.
In Game 1 there were 9 lead changes before the Saints scored the final 4 points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Meghan Niski’s kill gave the Saints the edge in the match.
In Game 2, the Saints scored the final 2 points on kills by DeSormey and Niski to win the game and match.
Niski led the Saints with 8 kills while Barrington was led by Julia Thompson and Lauren Shectman with 9 kills each.
Barrington (8-2), which placed third in the tournament with a 3-2 mark, defeated Prairie Ridge (26-28, 25-21, 15-12), New Trier (25-22, 25-18) and Nazareth (25-15, 27-25).
“Overall we had a very good day,” said Barrington coach Rob Ridenour. “The girls were excited to play today and came to play in a good frame of mind. This is a great group of girls and I am sure they are not satisfied with the way we played and will try to improve in practice.”