Girls volleyball: Dundee-Crown surprises Fremd; Cary-Grove wins
The Dundee-Crown Chargers refused to lose.
In a hard-fought match that went 3 sets, the third-seeded
Chargers upset second-seeded Fremd 26-24, 21-25, 28-26 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A Cary-Grove girls volleyball regional.
D-C (24-12), which had lost to Fremd 25-19, 25-13 at the Lake Park Invitational Saturday, will take on top-seeded Cary-Grove at 6 p.m. Thursday for the regional title. C-G defeated Lake Zurich 25-16, 25-16 in Tuesday's first semifinal.
Fremd controlled most of the third game against the Chargers Tuesday. After a kill by Lane Hindenburg, the Vikings (26-9) held a 19-11 advantage.
But the Chargers refused to quit.
D-C countered with a 6-0 run led by 3 kills from Emma Brant to make the score 19-17. The Chargers eventually tied the match at 23 on a kill by Lauren Lococo.
With the score tied at 26, the Chargers scored the final 2 points with the game-winner coming on a kill by Kailey Moll.
Bree Novak led the Chargers with 9 kills, Frankie Cavallaro (23 assists) had 8 kills and Lococo, Brant and Paige Gieseke collected 4 kills apiece.
"It is very exciting," said Lococo. "We were determined and fought hard to win. We wanted revenge after losing to them Saturday."
D-C coach Christine Hopkins-Muehl was ecstatic with the win.
"We were a little nervous early in the first game," she said. "It was a valiant effort. Our seniors showed great leadership and our younger players showed great maturity."
Hindenburg paced Fremd with 10 kills while Ysabel Lee had 5 aces.
"Dundee-Crown played fantastic," said Fremd coach Curt Pinley. "They played aggressive and played well at the defensive end. We played well at times and I am very proud of these girls. We had a fantastic season."
Cary-Grove d. Lake Zurich: Not even two torn ACLs can prevent Cary-Grove senior Morgan Lee from playing at a high level.
Lee, who will have her second ACL surgery after the completion of the volleyball season and will miss the basketball campaign, energized the Trojans with 6 kills, 4 blocks and 3 aces.
"I am playing through pain," said Lee."The adrenaline of playing in the matches helps. I am sore after matches. But it is worth it. We are confident as a team and are climbing to meet our goals."
Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis is impressed with Lee's courage.
"Morgan is playing through pain," said Langanis. " Her arm is so fast and she is tough to defend. We moved her to the right side and it is working."
The Trojans, after a slow start, seized control late in Game 1. With the score tied at 14, Cary-Grove scored 7 straight points, keyed by 3 kills from Lee, to take a 21-14 lead. The game was won on an ace by Bree Coffey.
In Game 2, the Trojans never trailed. After a kill by Abby Schebel, Cary-Grove held an 11-4 lead. The Trojans' biggest advantage was 11, 20-9, after a kill by Ali Splitt. Cary-Grove won the match on a kill from Erin Olson.
Schebel led the Trojans with 10 kills. Hannah Sweetwood paced the Bears with 12 kills.