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Naperville Central, WW South embrace the battle

Sometimes it takes a good cause to bring out the best in people.

It sure amazes Brie Isaacson.

“I am still mesmerized at what people will do when times are so difficult,” said Naperville Central’s volleyball coach. “The generosity of people is overwhelming.”

Isaacson’s volleyball program is once again pairing up with Wheaton Warrenville South this year for its Volley for the Cure night. The third event will be this Monday at Naperville Central.

No two programs have gone more full-bore into this cause than Naperville Central and WW South.

They raised $20,000 the first year and $25,000 last fall with all funds going toward the Susan G. Komen Foundation dedicated to education and research about causes, treatment and the search for the cure of breast cancer. This year the goal is $30,000.

At Monday’s event they will raffle off several prizes, with a silent auction for bigger-ticket items like dinner for eight at Sullivan’s steakhouse, apparel autographed by Candace Parker and airplane tickets.

“The biggest way people can support us now is to come out Monday and see a great volleyball match,” Isaacson said. “We have some fantastic families and a bunch of girls really buying into this.

“Volleyball is great and we do it because we love to play, but this is an opportunity for the girls to give back and be a part of something bigger than them.”

Asics Challenge next for Spartans:A brutally tough four-week slate culminates this weeked for St. Francis (18-4). The Spartans once again are one of 24 teams at Mother McAuley#146;s Asics Challenge Friday and Saturday.The 24th Asics Challenge features 11 teams from PrepVolleyball.com#146;s recent top 100 national rankings, led by Tampa#146;s Berkeley Prep (No. 4), Assumption High School from Louisville (No. 9), Kentucky#146;s Sacred Heart Academy (No. 24) and Newport Harbor from California (No. 48).Twelve teams from Illinois are at the event, led by Joliet Catholic (No. 57 nationally), No. 58 Huntley, No. 64 and defending tournament champion Cary-Grove, No. 88 Marist and No. 90 McAuley.Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South are other DuPage County teams at McAuley this wekeend.#147;It#146;s certainly the pinnacle of our tournaments,#148; St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. #147;You have to be realistic, realizing that it is preparing you for the state series. That#146;s what we are there for.#148;St. Francis#146; rugged September started at the Early Bird Tournament, where the Spartans beat St. Charles East in the final. They took second at the Effingham Tournament and went 3-2 last weekend at Rich East. St. Francis also lost to McAuley in a non-conference match and beat Rosary, Marian Central and Chicago Christian in tough Suburban Christian matches.#147;It#146;s been quite a September,#148; Kopec said. #147;We struggled a little bit at Rich East. Hopefully we are more stable and confident this weekend, and play our game.#148;Movin#146; on up:York and Benet, the top two teams in the Daily Herald rankings, are moving up the ladder in PrepVolleyball.com#146;s latest top 100. Benet is up to No. 23 from No. 33 and York No. 25 from No. 37. The top Illinois team is No. 17 Breese Mater Dei, winners of 39 matches in a row. Mater Dei has not lost a set to an in-state team this year.They just don#146;t get it: The IHSA strikes again.The association held its blind draw last week to determine the semifinals of the girls state volleyball tournament. It surely was blind to the best-possible state championship games.Assuming no upsets on the way to Redbird Arena, York and Benet #8212; who many consider the top two teams in Class 4A #8212; would meet in one 4A semifinal. In 3A, defending champion Breese Mater Dei would play Joliet Catholic in a semifinal matchup between clearly the two best teams in 3A.It#146;s an annual legitimate gripe with the IHSA #8212; that the state brackets its playoffs unevenly and does not pair its state finals to ensure the best championship game. And it isn#146;t limited to volleyball. Last year#146;s girls basketball semifinals pitted Bolingbrook against Whitney Young in 4A and Montini versus Springfield in 3A #8212; what many observers considered the de facto championship games.Trojans on a roll:Graduating eight seniors off last year#146;s 23-14 team, Timothy Christian coach Lindsey Van Schepen didn#146;t quite know what to expect in her third season.So far, so very good.Timothy Christian is 20-3 after winning the Manteno Tournament over the weekend, the Trojans#146; second tournament championship in as many weeks. Sophomore setter Jenna Lodewyk and senior middle Makenzie Vos both were named all-tournament for the Trojans, who beat Coal City in the final for their 16th straight win. Bridgitt Buikema was Timothy Christian#146;s kill leader in a couple matches.#147;We#146;re getting a balanced attack from all of our hitters #8212; they are all a threat at the net,#148; Van Schepen said. #147;Jenna is trusting each of our hitters and making them successful.#148;Timothy Christian took third in the Metro Suburban Conference last year behind Glenbard South and Illiana Christian; this past week they swept both, beating Illiana 25-13, 25-14 and Glenbard South 25-20, 25-20.#147;The team has definitely been pleasantly surprising,#148; Van Schepen said. #147;A lot of our girls in general have stepped into their roles and contributed where we needed to. We have great leadership from our upperclassmen. We#146;re getting better every match and going in with the confidence that we can compete with any team.#148;Big week in Bison-land:Wins have been few and far between for the Fenton Bison again this year.But not last week.The Bison, 1-12 heading in, beat Walther Lutheran 19-25, 25-15, 25-22 to snap a 12-match losing streak. A night later Fenton beat Metro Suburban Conference rival Elmwood Park 25-14, 25-11. It was a pretty impressive 24 hours, when you consider Fenton went 1-30 all of last year.#147;We knew it was two teams we could play with. If we were going to make a push, that was the week,#148; first-year Fenton co-coach Josh Payton said. #147;It#146;s nice to have a little midseason momentum going into the seeding meeting.#148;Payton complimented several girls for stepping up across the board as leaders. Sophomore Tina Guarino, shuffled all over the court this season, moved from setter to outside hitter three weeks ago and has thrived outside. Sophomore outside Nicole Celarek had 14 kills over the two matches.#147;For our stats that#146;s phenomenal,#148; Payton said.Senior setter Katie Rubright has also been a reliable all-around player who is solid at the service line.Payton admitted that it#146;s been a challenging season for him and fellow first-year coach Dave Mello #8212; #147;we didn#146;t think it would be as challenging as it has been.#148;A few winnable matches have slipped through the Bison#146;s fingertips. Fenton looks ahead to Wednesday#146;s Senior Night match with Ridgewood and the rematch with Elmwood Park as winnable down the road. Most important is maintaining a positive experience for a young group.#147;They have stuck with it, and a lot of the younger ones have really bought into what Dave and I have preached,#148; Payton said. #147;If they stick with it success might not be immediate but I think it wil reap some benefits as they continue on.#148;