Hersey, Schaumburg win regional semis

Mid-Suburban League girls volleyball champion Hersey kicked off postseason play with a 25-16, 25-13 victory over No. 15 Glenbrook North in semifinals of the Class 4A Stevenson regional on Tuesday night.

The No. 2-seeded Huskies (31-5) will face No. 7 Stevenson for the championship on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Hersey was led on attack by Gabri Olhava (8 kills), Liz Fuerst (7) and Zoe Strozewski (4 kills) while setter Courtney Stedman collected 18 assists and 2 kills.

Libero Paige Pannazzo served 9-of-9 with 8 digs while and Joslyn Kerman served 2 aces.

Stevenson posted an 18-25, 25-20, 25-20 triumph over No. 10 Buffalo Grove (18-15), which was led on attack by Monica Browne (12 kills), Sara Biesiadecki (9), Alicia Kantor (4), Margie Monacelli (3) and Marie Georgoulis (3), who ran the offense with 9 assists.

Kiarra Akiyoshi led the back row with 20 digs, followed by Georgoulis (12) and Browne (8).

Schaumburg d. Resurrection: Mid-Suburban West champion Schaumburg (23-13) earned a spot in Thursday's championship of the Class 4A Niles West regional championship with a 17-25, 26-24, 25-21 victory over No. 15 Resurrection.

The No. 2-seeded Saxons will face No. 7 Niles West at 6 p.m. for the title.

Leading the attack for Schaumburg was senior Oyinkan Akinola, who put down 20 kills.

Jada Blackwell added 4, followed by Mallory Gerber (3), Lexi Ross (2) and Katherine Coombs (2).

Blackwell also handed out 20 assists while Hannah Moore had 11 digs and 2 assists.

Glenbrook South d. Prospect: No. 4 Glenbrook South recorded a 25-14, 25-11 victory over No. 13 Prospect (16-21) in the Class 4A Grayslake Central semifinal.

"This is the hardest part about coaching, the end of the season," said first-year Knights coach Gabrielle Lovin. "It breaks my heart to see the girls emotional about the season being over. The positive that I can take from this is that I know they love the game and care about the game. We are fighters."

Kaella Myers (4 kills) led the attack followed by Catherine Sherwood (3) and Sammmy Withey (2). Michelle Haaning handed out 11 assists while Sarah Cutaia had 8 digs.

"This team did some great things this season and we will continue to grow as a program," Lovin added. "We will miss our seniors Catherine Sherwood, Carolyn Sherrick, Sarah Cutaia, Rachael Grippo and Maddie Mantych."

Dundee-Crown d. Fremd: No. 3 Dundee-Crown pulled out a 26-24, 21-25, 28-26 over No. 2 Fremd (26-9) in the semifinals of the five-team Class 4A Cary-Grove regional.

Loyola d. Rolling Meadows: Top-seeded Loyola posted a 25-15, 25-16 over No. 17 Rolling Meadows (9-28) in the semifinals of the Class 4A Larkin regional.

Hannah Mickey and Nora Rasche each had 4 kills for the Mustangs while teammate Maddie Sellergren added 2.

Megan Mich had 7 assists and Megan King added 4 for Meadows, which received 10 digs from Paige Connor 10.

Lake Park d. Conant: No. 5 Lake Park topped No. 12 Conant 27-25, 25-19 in the semifinals of the Class 4A Hoffman Estates regional.