Versatile Burlington C., Kaneland to meet for title
The girls volleyball teams from Kaneland and Burlington Central demonstrated a common trait in their respective semifinal wins at the Class 3A Hampshire regional Tuesday: versatility.
In the first semifinal, Kaneland overcame a sluggish start to knock off St. Edward 25-21, 25-22 with an attack centered around senior outside hitter Ellie Dunne but supported by contributions from all over the court.
No. 4 seed St. Edward (18-11) stayed with top-seeded Kaneland (24-8-1) in both sets. Though always cognizant of Dunn, the Green Wave could not contain the adaptable Knights, who set the middle when the St. Edward defense shifted focus to block the outside.
Senior middle Riley Hannula (5-foot-10) scored the winning point to clinch the first set, and 5-10 senior Anna Senese punctuated the victory with a booming spike for match point.
"We're trying to make sure that we're using all our hitters and not just Ellie because I noticed they were really focusing on Ellie in that first set," Kaneland coach Cynthia Violett said. "We were using our middles. Riley ended the first set and Anna the second one, so it shows we have multiple hitters and not just one."
"They had a lot of different guns to use," St. Edward coach Jaime Dovichi said. "Defensively, we did everything we could physically to stop them. I don't think that we could have done anything more than we did. We played as well as we could."
The win advances Kaneland to a regional final for the third straight season. The Knights will attempt to win their second regional title in three years on the same court where they won their last in 2012.
"It's been my goal all three years I've been on varsity," Dunn said. "We're here to win regionals and I hope we pull through on Thursday. We have to work hard and put our heart into it like I know we can."
Likewise, short handed Burlington Central (30-6) was a 2-set winner over No. 3 seed Genoa-Kingston, 27-25, 27-14.
Playing without leading outside hitter Lauren Wiltsie (bruised foot), the second-seeded Rockets nevertheless had enough firepower, thanks to right side Emily Bozich (7 kills), outside hitter Aly DeTamble (6 kills, 3 aces), middle Lexi VanHiel (5 kills, 3 blocks) and right side Megan Lomas (3 kills). Senior Kayla Rafferty stepped in for Wiltsie and delivered 4 kills.
"We try to have a really balanced attack, so I think it's hard for (opponents) to know exactly where the ball is going," Central coach Marv Leavitt said. "That puts a lot of stress on the defense. That's our goal: to find the hole in their defense. Every team has a hole. It's just a matter of stressing it enough and finding out where to attack it."
The Rockets will compete for their second straight regional title when they tangle with Kaneland on Thursday at 6 p.m.
"We just want it so bad," said DeTamble, whose 3 aces improved her single-season school record to 101. "We've talked about it all season. We're just going to play our game. We do well when we just play our game."