Wheeling gets tough, completes comeback against BG

Wheeling's girls volleyball team was down by 10 points to Buffalo Grove in the third set on Thursday night.

The Wildcats had been in a similar situation on several occasions this season and failed to complete a winning rally.

But with a share of first place in the Mid-Suburban East on the line, the host Wildcats put everything on the line.

The result was a stunning come-from-behind 17-25, 25-18, 25-23 victory, leaving the hosts tied for first with Hersey (both 3-0).

"It was amazing," said Wheeling coach Jason Kopkowski. "I'm going to steal a quote here and say there was no lack of heart or muscle from these girls tonight."

Sophomore Timber Terrell muscled her way to a match-high 15 kills while senior MH Lani Greenberg added 9 as the Wildcats evened their record at 8-8.

The attackers took their cues from senior setter Sabrina Semeria, who dished out 16 assists, including many clutch ones in the final set.

She helped Wheeling earn its penultimate point with a great fist save which lofted right up into Terrell's leaping swing for a kill and 24-23 lead.

With Domenica Montesinos still serving, Semeria came back with a more conventional set, once again finding Terrell for the match-winning kill.

"I think we all felt we were on a little bit of thin ice," Semeria said of the third-set deficit. "We were a little hesitant. But then we all came together. We communicated. Our teamwork and effort was there."

With her serve, senior setter Marie Georgoulis staked the Bison (6-4, 2-1) to a 6-0 cushion in the final set, getting points 2 through 6 with a pair of aces, a block and kill by Sara Biesiadecki and a hitting error.

The lead eventually ballooned to 17-7 when Maddi Morini recorded a service point.

"We just knew we had to come back 1 point at a time," said Wildcats senior Deanna Kuzmanic. "We've been struggling mentally when we get behind so we had to take it slow and 1 point at a time."

"That was the neatest thing," Kopkowski said. "We'd been in this position a half dozen times but this was a breakthrough situation. It's the first time the girls stayed tough the whole way."

Kuzmanic was tough at the service line. With her team trailing 21-15, the basketball standout served for the next 5 points to get the hosts to within a point. Terrell was the spark to the rally, registering 3 kills and 1 block.

"Timber had a good match," said Kopkowski of the 5-foot-11 outside hitter. "She has been struggling with the transition from middle to outside. Her timing was off a little. But she has a lot of athleticism - that is hard to deny. No doubt, she is a superstar in the making."

A kill by senior Alicia Kantor, her ninth of the match, made it 22-20 in favor of the Bison.

Terrell then made her most dramatic kill of the match, taking a set from Semeria and falling to the ground after impact.

She remained on the floor for a few seconds to shake off an injury. Terrell got back up on her feet, getting a big cheer from the Wildcats fans and they never stopped making noise the rest of the way.

The dramatic ending saw BG inch ahead 23-21 on a kill by senior Teagan Hutchings, her eighth of the match to go along with 5 blocks.

Wildcats junior Michaela Vasey answered with a kill to cut it to 23-22 before Montesinos' service point (off a hitting error) tied the set at 23.

That set up the final two plays where Semeria delivered the ball to Greenberg.

Semeria ended up 11-of-15 serving with 2 aces while Kuzmanic was 15-of-15.

"Deanna has been one of our most consistent servers the last two years and Sabrina as well," Kopkowski said. "Those two have always been clutch at big-time moments."

The first set was tied at 15-15 when BG gradually pulled away, getting 4 straight points from Hutchings with back-to-back kills, then back-to-back blocks.

Biesiadecki (5 kills) followed with an ace for a 20-15 advantage and the Bison wrapped it up at 25-17 on a kill by Monica Browne (3 kills).

Kantor had back-to-back kills in Set 2 to get BG to within 18-17 but Wheeling answered with a 4-0 run and never looked back. Terrell's ace made it 21-17 and the set ended at 25-18 on a kill by Vasey.

Senior Libero Alexi Laureano led the backcourt defense for Wheeling with 17 digs while Terrell had 10 and Kristen Bogacz 9.

"We started to tighten up at the end," said BG coach Matt Priban. "I don't think we played the energy and aggressiveness we needed to finish it off.

"Give credit to Wheeling. Defensively, they were everywhere and No. 17 (Terrell) is a strong hitter."

Georgoulis finished with 12 assists for the Bison while Morini had 8 digs and Browne 7.

"We were up big but Wheeling never quit," Priban added. "We have to make sure we stay in the match and not pull back anything. We can't be timid at the end."