St. Francis wins Crossroads Classic

No. 1 St. Francis beat Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 25-22, 26-24 to win the Crossroads Classic tournament in Effingham on Saturday.

St. Francis (12-1), which went 5-0 over the two-day, 24-team tournament, was led by tournament Most Valuable Player Molly Haggerty. Spartans Maddie Haggerty and Sam Dubiel also made the all-tournament team.

On Saturday the Spartans beat Belleville Althoff 25-16, 25-16, then Lexington Henry Clay 25-14, 25-15 before defeating Bishop Chatard in a matchup of the defending Class 3A state champions from Illinois and Indiana.

It is St. Francis’ fourth championship at Effingham, joining first-place finishes from 2006, 2007 and 2009.

“This is a big one,” St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. “Bishop Chatard ran a very very quick offense and we had not seen that this year. It was exciting for us to win this, and it was very close.”

No. 6 Glenbard West (12-2) took third place in its first year going to Effingham. After a 2-0 finish in pool play, the Hilltoppers beat Champaign Centennial 28-26, 23-25, 25-23, then lost to Bishop Chatard 25-23, 25-21 before topping Henry Clay 21-25, 25-8, 25-20 in the third-place match. Glenbard West’s Natalie Schilling and Meg DeMaar both made the all-tournament team.

Naperville Central (4-4) took second in the Bronze bracket. On Saturday the Redhawks beat Tri-County 25-16, 25-12 and Owensboro Catholic 25-9, 13-25, 15-11 before losing to Whitney Young 25-22, 25-23.

Aurora Christian Invite:Glenbard South (17-2) went 5-0 to win the Aurora Christian Invite. Tarah Valdez had 30 kills, Kenzie Watterson 28 and Sydney Bauman 20. Alex LaPonte set 84 assists. The Raiders beat McHenry, Harvard, Hampshire, Aurora Christian and Woodstock.West Chicago Invite:West Chicago beat Dundee-Crown 25-23, 25-16 in the championship match of the West Chicago Invite. The Wildcats, 4-1 at their tournament, lost to Dundee-Crown in Friday pool play but won the rematch after beating Larking 25-22, 25-23 in the semifinals.