Make its 12 straight MSL East titles for Hersey
The longest division winning streak in Mid-Suburban League girls volleyball history is alive and well.
Hersey made it 12 straight East crowns on Thursday night when the Huskies rallied from a second-set loss and a 10-7 deficit in Set 3 to post a 25-18, 20-25, 25-12 victory at Buffalo Grove.
The next best MSL streak is seven consecutive West titles, by Barrington from 2000 to 2007.
"It's awesome," said Huskies senior setter Courtney Stedman (22 assists, 4 digs, 3 kills) who has now started on the three East championship squads for coach Nancy Lill. "It's so great to be part of this dynasty. To grow up watching these girls playing and now be playing as one of them is incredible. I wouldn't want it any other way."
The Huskies found the way to victory in Set 3 behind the serving of seniors Joslyn Kerman and Gabri Olhava.
The visitors were nursing a 12-11 lead when Kerman stepped to the line and got the Huskies to a 19-11 advantage.
Moments later, it was Olhava serving Hersey from 20-12 to the final score.
"I was just trying to do the job for my team," said Kerman about her string of 7 straight points that started with an ace. "I know have a pretty good serve and once I served them over the net, my teammates would have my back and keep it going. That's what makes serving so much easier and allows you to get in a rhythm."
Kerman also had 8 digs and 3 blocks as Hersey raised its record to 19-4 and 9-0 in the East, two matches ahead of Buffalo Grove (14-9, 7-2) with one to play.
"Joslyn has one of the toughest serves in the league," Lill said. "When she serves in practice, it gives our own team fits. She has a wicked floater that is so tough."
No one was tougher than Olhava in the match as the New Hampshire-recuit put down 9 kills with a single-match school-record 8 blocks.
"That was huge from Gabri," Lill said. "She had a great match."
The Bison produced a great finish in Set 2 when they broke a 19-19 tie on a tip by senior Teagan Hutchings.
Senior Monica Browne then sparked the Bison offense with a kill though a double block and a block of her own for a 22-19 lead.
After Lill called for a timeout, Brown scored another point with a fadeaway nifty tip near the sideline to make it 23-19.
Alicia Kantor followed with an ace for BG's penultimate point of the set before Hersey got to within 24-20 on a net call.
But Browne promptly ended the set with yet another kill. The 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter finished with a match-high 13 kills and 2 aces.
"She (Browne) really came through at the end of that second set," said Bison coach Matt Priban. "We've been looking for that and she really stepped up tonight."
The Bison hitters were stepping into the sets of senior Marie Georgoulis, who collected 13 assists. Sara Biesiadecki, Hutchings and Kantor all had 4 kills while libero Kiarra Akiyoshi collected 10 digs.
The Bison competed well against the division champs until the big serving finish by Kerman and Olhava which allowed Hersey to finish on a 14-1 run.
"Just when Hersey started getting that big run, we needed to get tougher," Priban said. "We seemed a little tentative. We weren't playing with the same aggressiveness we had been. We've just got to play to win."
The Huskies will try to win their final league match at Rolling Meadows next Thursday to complete a 10-0 season for the fifth time in six years.
"The key to this win was everyone stepping up as a team," Kerman added. "We never got down."
Liz Fuerst put down 8 kills for Hersey while teammates Caity Strozewski and Stedman had 3 apiece.
One of Hersey's top attackers, senior Kelly Hill, did not play because of pink eye.s
"Liz (Fuerst) had a heck of a match," Lill added about her 5-10 junior outside hitter who also had 3 aces.
The Huskies' defense, as usual, was led in the back row by junior Paige Pannazo's 13 digs.
"This is incredible," Stedman added about another East title. "This is one of the things we wanted to accomplish."