Girls volleyball: South Elgin, Elgin earn wins at Elk Grove regional
Timing is everything when it comes to the playoffs. On Monday night Elgin High and South Elgin picked the ideal time to clean up their acts. Both limited their errors and survived to play another day with wins in the first round at the Class 4A Elk Grove girls volleyball regional.
The Storm bounced back from an ugly regular-season finale loss to Larkin with a 25-13, 25-15 with over host Elk Grove while the Maroons snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 25-21, 25-15 win over Streamwood. South Elgin advances to play Maine East on Tuesday and Elgin will square off with Maine South.
"If we were going to pick a time to win again this was a fine time to do it," Elgin coach Scott Stewart said. "We talked beforehand about keeping the ball in play by keeping our errors to a minimum. I thought we played very smart."
The Maroons, whose last win also came against Streamwood, had just 17 unforced errors compared to 32 for the Sabres.
Elgin (12-22) led most of the way in Game 1, but it was nip-and-tuck throughout. An ace from Emily Huprich gave the Maroons the lead for good 10-9. A 4-0 run midway through sparked by a block kill from Alisha Panthier gave the Maroons their largest lead of the game at 18-13. Another ace from Huprich late in the game the Maroons another 5-point cushion at 22-17.
Elgin fell behind 7-0 in Game 2 but Streamwood self-destructed and the Maroons rallied to pull even at 13-13 and then pulled away from there.
"We stayed cool and calm and just played it one point at a time," Stewart said. "It just started to click again."
An 11-point service run by Julie Camarena in Game 2 catapulted the Maroons into the lead.
"It was definitely one of my better serving days," said Camarena. "I just went back there and did my job and everyone else did a good job when the ball came back on our side."
Camarena had a team-high 12 digs and a pair of aces. Abby Pierre-Louis had 3 kills. Tiana Polumbo added 7 digs and 8 assists.
Lauren Schiferl had 5 kills to lead Streamwood. Jessica Daly finished with 18 digs. Karla Jasso recorded 8 assists.
"We just tried to play too careful and afraid to lose," said Streamwood coach Sheryl Hettinger. "We'd get a couple points scored on us and it would turn into a ripple effect and we would shut down."
South Elgin d. Elk Grove: South Elgin (19-14-1) had just 10 unforced errors in its win. The Storm also recorded 12 aces.
"We played really good volleyball tonight," South Elgin coach Joni Plach said. "We took smart shots and didn't make a lot of hitting errors. And we were able to keep the ball away from their hitters in the middle by serving well and not letting them get into their offense. I was very pleased with the way we played."
The Storm cruised in both games. In Game 2 South Elgin blew it open with an 8-point service run by Renee Rush, including 4 straight aces, to make it 22-11.
Sarah Hallas had a team-high 6 kills for the Storm. Rush had 6 assists, 4 kills, and 4 aces. Casie Swanson had 9 assists. Katie Innis finished with 5 aces and 2 kills.
"Our setters and hitters were really connecting tonight," said Innis. "We've really been able to cut down on our mistakes and that has made a huge difference for us. "
Elk Grove (8-25) was led in kills by Amber Lindfors with 11.
Jacobs d. Rockford Jefferson: Bridget Wallenberger had 8 kills and Paige Queffelec 17 assists to lead Jacobs (17-19) to a 25-16, 25-6 win at the Class 4A Huntley regional. The Golden Eagles take on Huntley (22-13) on Tuesday in the semifinals.
Naperville Central d. Bartlett: Natalie Moll had 3 kills and Andie Sobotka 8 digs but Bartlett (7-21) saw its season come to an end with a 25-12, 25-12 loss at the Class 4A Geneva regional.
Elgin Academy d. Chicagoland Jewish: The Hilltoppers advanced at the Class 1A Chicagoland Jewish regional in Deerfield, beating the host team 25-15, 25-21. Elgin Academy will take on Harvest Christian in Tuesday's semifinals.